Rematch of the year: how Usik and Fury decided who was the best
On Sunday night, Saudi Arabia hosted the fight that everyone who cares about boxing was waiting for: the rematch between Oleksandr Usik and Tyson Fury. What surrounded the main confrontation of the year in the heavyweight division, how the fight went and what its result means - in the material of "Izvestia".
Usik - Fury: what was at stake
The fight Usik - Fury does not need additional advertising: you have two great champions who find out who is the best in their generation. This rematch couldn't have been advertised at all, boxing fans around the world would have found a way to watch the fight anyway.
Nevertheless, both fighters got involved in the promotion and made a show out of it, with Fury promising to win and set up a trilogy, and Usik claiming "I'm the best in the world, and I'll beat Tyson easier than I did in the first fight."
Fury said he didn't talk to his wife for three months during his training to avoid distractions, to which Usik replied, "I prepared for five months and talked to my wife every day and every hour because she is my support and my motivation."
And most importantly: both were risking their careers. A second loss to Fury would have meant his sunset. And if Usik had lost, Tyson would have come out of the fight a king. And he's used to being the king: Fury boxed three times with Deontay Wilder and finally proved that he is on another level. A win over Usik would make Fury unequivocally the best boxer of the last ten years.
Usik had a lot to lose as well. Alexander has not known defeat in the professional ring (22-0, 14 knockouts), and to trade a zero in the loss column for one hurts. This zero is worth a lot of money, and it makes sense to fight for it, so there was no doubt that for Usik this fight is a matter of principle.
Unlike the last fight there were no belts at stake, the status of absolute world champion was no longer played out. Usik left the IBF title vacant, but it didn't matter: boxing is about names, not awards. Usik and Fury could have fought even in promoter Eddie Hearn's yard (where Povetkin knocked out Dillian Whyte in 2021), the interest would not have suffered.
Conspiracy theories
They were there before the fight, too. In social networks quite actively fanned the theory that the fight on December 21 should win Fury, so that the score in the confrontation with Usik became 1:1. And there it would be possible to organize a third fight and break all records for world attention. A good business scheme, it would seem.
Its main disadvantage is that it does not work. Usik was predicted to lose in the rematch from Joshua, but Sasha took the fight confidently. And his ambitions left no doubt: victory over Fury for 50 million is more important than the opportunity to earn more, but lose and risk his reputation.
How the fight went
Usik was considered the favorite. His chances of winning were estimated at 55%, which left Fury with a lot of room to maneuver. Tyson took five or six rounds in the first fight, and there was no reason why he should look worse this time. Both contenders knew what they needed to do to win.
And Fury did start off more active: four of the first five rounds were unequivocally behind him. Tyson took the center of the ring and constantly hit first. Usik worked as the second number, which is not a winning tactic with such an opponent as Tyson Fury. The picture started to change from the sixth round, when Usik switched on and started throwing twice as many punches.
Alexander Usik celebrates after winning the WBA, WBO and WBC heavyweight title fight against Britain's Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, December 22, 2024.
Of the last seven rounds of the fight the Briton can be given a maximum of one. Usik completely seized the initiative and was slightly better than his opponent in each of the game segments. If Tyson was not behind his opponent in the number of punches, there was a huge difference in their accuracy.
Before the 12th round, both could think that the judges' decision depended on the next three minutes. And the boxers made a fight, as far as their remaining physical strength allowed them. And in this fight Usik was always half a step ahead. The judges gave him the victory unanimously: 116:112.
"I didn't feel any special spirit of Usik in the ring. But I felt the Christmas spirit. I think he got a little gift from the judges," said Fury. The Briton is confident that he won the fight, the same opinion of his promoter Frank Warren. But most experts, including artificial intelligence, which served as the unofficial referee in this fight, saw Usik winning.
"To hell with all the computers, take care of people. We need more jobs for people and less for computers. Fuck electric cars too!" - Tyson Fury declared.
Usik again showed that he has no equal in world boxing. Theoretically, he could end his career even now: there are no more opponents with whom he could earn as much as with Tyson Fury. And there is little sense in a trilogy: Usik won both fights, and the second more confidently than the first.
A rematch with Daniel Dubois, who defeated Anthony Joshua and now holds the IBF title, is likely. It would be interesting to see Usik against knockout Deontay Wilder, but the American has already passed his peak and now does not look ready for such a fight. In any case, Usik is a phenomenon in world boxing, and no matter how many fights he has left, people will watch each of them because of respect for what he has done in the ring.
