Usyk beats Fury to become undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion
Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk defeated Briton Tyson Fury early this morning to become the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in nearly 25 years after a title-unifying fight at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
37 year old Usyk won the keenly contested bout via a two-to-one split decision, with the judges scoring it 115-112 for Usyk, 114-113 for Fury, and 114-113 for Usyk.
Though 35 year old Fury hurt Usyk with an uppercut in round six, the Ukrainian responded by almost stopping him in round nine, as the Briton was given 10 counts but was saved by the bell.
With the outcome, Usyk now holds all four heavyweight belts: the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Organisation, the International Boxing Federation, and the World Boxing Council title previously held by his opponent.
Usyk, who is nicknamed “The Cat,” before this bout had won all 21 of his fights and remained unbeaten, while Fury, popularly called the “Gipsy King,” was also undefeated in his previous 34 fights, with only one draw recorded.
This is the first undisputed world heavyweight title championship since 1999, when Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield.
By Alamboda Tonye