Oleksandr Usyk Beats Tyson Fury, Retains Heavyweight Titles After Rematch Fight
December 21, 2024
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury via unanimous decision (116-112 for all three judges) in a rematch on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to remain the WBA, WBO and WBC heavyweight champion.
Boxing on TNT Sports @boxingontnt116-112<br>116-112<br>116-112<br><br>AND STILL.... Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury in the rematch πΊπ¦<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Usyk2Fury?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Usyk2Fury</a> | BUY NOW on TNT Sports Box Office βΆοΈ <a href="https://t.co/FXWiFF98Ej">https://t.co/FXWiFF98Ej</a> <a href="https://t.co/p4A8TdUKiv">pic.twitter.com/p4A8TdUKiv</a>
DAZN Boxing @DAZNBoxingπππ πππππ.<br><br>Usyk defeats Tyson Fury via unanimous decision and retains his WBA, WBC and WBO world heavyweight titles π<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Usyk2Fury?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Usyk2Fury</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RiyadhSeason?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RiyadhSeason</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Turki_alalshikh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Turki_alalshikh</a> <a href="https://t.co/t3bxBnUurx">pic.twitter.com/t3bxBnUurx</a>
CompuBox relayed the punching stats, which favored Usyk:
CompuBox @CompuBox12/21 DAZN- Usyk W 12 Fury II. Usyk again was the boss down the stretch, punctuating the win by throwing fight highs in 11th & 12th and landing 54% of his power punches over last 5 rounds. Usyk landed 78 body shots & 179 punches, most by a Fury opponent. <a href="https://t.co/kyds1Rplbx">pic.twitter.com/kyds1Rplbx</a>
After the match, Daniel Dubois confronted Usyk and demanded a rematch.
Boxing on TNT Sports @boxingontnt"I want my revenge, Usyk!" π§<a href="https://twitter.com/DynamiteDubois?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DynamiteDubois</a> crashes Oleksandr Usyk's celebration speech!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Usyk2Fury?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Usyk2Fury</a> | BUY NOW on TNT Sports Box Office βΆοΈ <a href="https://t.co/FXWiFF98Ej">https://t.co/FXWiFF98Ej</a> <a href="https://t.co/VgjzvMr3t5">pic.twitter.com/VgjzvMr3t5</a>
Usyk and Fury first fought last May, with the former fighter earning the win via split decision (115-112, 113-114 and 114-113) to mark the first time there had been an undisputed heavyweight boxing champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.
Per CompuBox, Usyk landed 170 punches to Fury's 157. He also landed 122 power punches to Fury's 95. The difference in power punches landed was stark in the final five rounds, as Usyk landed 66 to Fury's 30. Usyk also won the ninth round by a 10-8 score on all three judges' scorecards after registering a knockdown of Fury and a standing eight-count.
With that, Fury lost the first professional boxing match of his career, dropping the WBC heavyweight and The Ring heavyweight titles in the process. Meanwhile, Usyk retained the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO belts. Usyk later vacated the IBF title, which Daniel Dubois has since earned.
Fury was undefeated through the first 35 matches of his career, going 34-0 with one draw to Deontay Wilder. Fury avenged that result twice, beating Wilder by seventh-round TKO in Feb. 2020 before adding an 11th-round knockout of his foe in Oct. 2021.
Many of Fury's fights have been left with little doubt of the result, thanks largely to his 24 knockouts.
Usyk, meanwhile, has been nothing short of tremendous as well, with 14 knockouts and five unanimous decision victories. The former cruiserweight champion moved to heavyweight and made his mark in Sept. 2021 when he won the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua via unanimous decision. He retained those belts via split decision in Aug. 2022 (115-113, 115-113 and 116-112).
Since then, Usyk defeated Dubois via ninth-round knockout in Aug. 2023 before taking down Fury in their first matchup.
Now Usyk has beaten Fury again to remain the heavyweight champion of the world.