By: Sean Crose
Tyson Fury made his way to the ring in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to the sounds of Christmas music courtesy of Mariah Carey. By the time the towering Englishman reached the ring, however, Carey’s vocals had been replaced by the music of Biggie Smalls. It was all, to be sure, classic Fury. The former heavyweight titlist, however, wasn’t in Riyadh for a concert. He was there to win a battle for heavyweight dominance against the only man to ever beat him in the ring – WBO, WBC, and WBA heavyweight titlist Oleksandr Usyk.
Moments later, the defending champion came out to rousing music of his own. Wearing what could best be described to western eyes as a turban, the Ukrainian master was pure intensity as he made his way to the ring. Upon entering the squared circle, Usyk briefly knelt in prayer in his corner. After Usyk got back to his feet, there was essentially nothing left for he and Fury to do but fight.
And fight they did.
Fury had a strong, aggressive first, applying his jab regularly and looking to use his size in order to dominate his smaller foe. Usyk however, used his masterful footwork to try to find openings to capitalize on. Usyk spent the second working the body at a rapid pace. Fury, however, was able to land and land hard at round’s end. Indeed, Fury had a brilliant third, zipping his jab and keeping Usyk from landing clean.
Usyk landed hard twice in the fourth. Fury didn’t seem to be hurt, but he had been caught, which meant Usyk could land on him. Fury responded with a hard shot of his own in the final seconds of the round. Fury held and placed his weight on Usyk early in the fifth. The Englishman then went on to largely dominate the round. With that in mind, Usyk was able to land well just before the bell.
Usyk then turned up the volume in the sixth, landing and landing well. Fury didn’t look as sharp as he did in the earlier rounds. Fury got rocked in the final thirty seconds of the round. He fired back, but Usyk kept coming forward. The two division titlist continued to apply pressure on Fury in the seventh. Neither man threw shots in large numbers, but Usyk’s punches were more apt to count.
An unintentional head butt stopped the action briefly in the eighth, but neither man seemed worse for wear. Usyk went on to be the more active of the two fighters in the round. He didn’t land clean often, but he was able to dictate the tempo throughout the chapter. Fury hit and held effectively in the ninth. Usyk, however, put his punches together well in the last act of the round. The tenth was an extraordinary display, with each man having his moments. Fury held strategically while Usyk once again landed well as the round came to an end.
Usyk’s use of effective aggression was the story of the eleventh. Sure enough, Fury started to look as if he was running out of steam. While Fury was able to land, Usyk landed more often. The final round was explosive, with each man landing strongly and well. It was then all up to the judges…
…who ruled in favor of Usyk via unanimous decision.
“I win. Thank you, God,” Usyk said afterward. Indeed, Usyk seemed put off that he hadn’t won by a wider margin on the judges’ scorecards.
A disappointed Fury had left the ring after the decision was read, though his promoter, Frank Warren, conveyed a sense of true disappointment himself and made it clear he felt his man was robbed by the judges.
“That’s up to him,” Warren said after being asked if Fury would fight again. “Obviously emptions are running high.”