Oleksandr Usyk successfully defends heavyweight belt with unanimous decision over Tyson Fury

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Oleksandr Usyk remained undefeated when he successfully defended his heavyweight titles with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Judges Gerardo Martinez, Patrick Morley and Ignacio Robles had identical scorecards in favor of Usyk, 116-112.

Usyk landed 179-of-423 (42%) punches thrown, while Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) landed just 144 of the 509 punches he threw, a 28% clip.

Asked if he agreed with judges scores, Usyk implied that it’s not his place to question, only to box.

“I win, it’s good,” said Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs). “Not my deal. I win. Thank you, God.”

In the closing betting numbers from BetMGM, Usyk closed -145 and Fury was +110.

The highly anticipated rematch from a May bout in which saw Fury suffered his first loss lived up to the hype from the moment the boxers entered the arena.

Per a report on ESPN, Usyk’s team requested the Middle East Professional Boxing Commission during Friday’s rules meeting to mandate that Fury trim his beard ahead of their unified heavyweight championship rematch.

He had a beard as burly as Santa Claus less than a week before Christmas, but the 36-year-old sauntered in unshaven and donning a bright red Christmas-themed robe with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” accompanying his walk to the ring.

After Fury opened the fight with a rather quick pace and controlled the first two rounds, Usyk responded in the third and fourth rounds by working the body while slipping in occasional power combinations to the head.

Fury landed several big shots in the fifth round, but Usyk’s left hand was the story in the sixth, staggering his bigger and taller opponent twice.

In the second half of the fight, it became apparent that carrying the extra weight was wearing Fury down, as the pace began to catch up to him while Usyk’s calm and patient approach favored him. Usyk's ability to get inside, strike quick and damage Fury with stinging combinations was the difference.

Feeling the pressure, a spirited Fury came out swinging in the 10th, bullying Usyk throughout the round. Usyk held him off at times with a steady jab, while an uppercut from Fury scored late.

Usyk’s speed came to life in the 11th, again, landing blistering combinations to Fury’s head to keep him at bay.

The two traded flurries of punches in the final round, Fury hoping to make one final impression on the judges while Usyk was looking for an exclamation point.

Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced on X (formerly Twitter) earlier in the week that an experimental AI judge would also return results. The innovative virtual system has Usyk winning, 118-112.

Fury is now 5-1 in rematches.

Only three belts were on the line this time after the IBF stripped Usyk for not facing its mandatory challenger, Daniel Dubois.

Dubois interrupted Usyk’s postfight interview, snatched the microphone and demanded a rematch from their fight on Aug. 26, 2023. Usyk won by knockout in the ninth round.

“I want my revenge Usyk,” Dubois said. “Well done tonight, but I want my revenge.”

Usyk obliged by telling the powers that be in attendance, “Your Excellency, make me fight with Daniel. Thank you so much.”

In other action on the card:

Serhii Bohachuk defeated Ismael Davis with a sixth-round TKO.

Johnny Fisher defeated Dave Allen with a split decision (95-94, 93-96, 95-94).

Lee McGregor defeated Isaac Lowe via unanimous decision (96-92, 97-91, 97-91).

Peter McGrail outpointed Rhys Edwards with a unanimous decision (96-95, 96-94, 96-94).

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports