It was a career-defining night in Saudi Arabia when Tyson Fury took on Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed boxing heavyweight title of the world. To call it an incredible fight would be doing the event a complete disservice. What H.E. Turki Alalshikh has been able to do in the world of boxing, meaning, getting two of the biggest names together has been nothing short of incredible. The man has achieved what many have tried over the years to save the sport of heavyweight boxing but have failed. There’s only been one person with enough money, power, influence, and goodwill to put this fight together, and it’s very clear that his hand was behind pretty much the entire event and that the world of boxing would forever remember this star-studded affair. The main event saw Tyson Fury defend his world heavyweight championship against Oleksandr Usyk.
While most pundits have lauded Usyk’s technical acumen, speed and precision, there was the question of what he would do against someone so much bigger. And it’s not just Tyson Fury’s size as well; The man is incredibly skilled. He’s got a telephone pole of a jab, a missile-like right uppercut and an excellent straight left. And in many ways, Usyk was having trouble closing the distance. But with his speed, intelligence and ring craft, he was able to run circles around Tyson Fury for the first couple of rounds. Usyk was finding body shots that were really hurting Fury and you could see that the big man was visibly affected.
Usyk dominated Fury for most of the bout
It wasn’t until the ninth round that Usyk landed a beautiful left hand. He also hit Fury with subsequent punches that almost floored the champion. In fact, if it wasn’t for the ropes and the ref, Tyson Fury would have had to come back from a deficit of one giant knockdown. From the ninth round on Tyson Fury was completely out of it. The man looked like he was defeated, and he knew it. He was up against a younger, tougher, faster, more precise, more technical boxer than he was and he had a very, very difficult time containing Usik.
For most of the contest, Oleksandr walked Tyson Fury down. He was making sure that he was defensively sound while entering the pocket. Sure, the telephone pole jab did land, but Usyk made sure that he moved his head off the centre line and deflected most of Fury’s blows. Usyk beat Tyson to the punch and the fight was essentially a shutout for The Man from Ukraine. If you want to talk about electric fights, this was one of them. It revitalised the sport of boxing and has shone a new light on the talent-rich heavyweight division.
What’s Next for Usyk
What H.E. Turki Alalshikh has been able to do for the world of boxing should strike fear into the hearts of all American promoters and all promoters around the world. The man has single-handedly saved whatever heavyweight boxing was and essentially brought it to the limelight. Heavyweight boxing has not been this exciting in many, many, many years. What he’s been able to achieve is nothing short of incredible.
While there’s been chatter online about who’s next for Usyk, it’s clear that a rematch is in order. Usyk holds the three belts and all the cards, at this moment. Can Tyson figure out Usyk and get his belts back or does the Ukranian have Fury’s number? We’ll find out soon enough.
