Boxing, Usyk beats Fury on points and confirms himself as world champion

Invincible Oleksandr Usyk. In the ring of the Kingdome Arena in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) he beat Tyson Fury for the second time on points with a unanimous decision (triple 116-112) and retained the WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight championship belts. He is always the king of the world. The 25 kilos of weight (127 to 102 kg) and 15 centimeters of height (2.06 to 1.91) less than the extra large measurements of the 36-year-old British rival do not make a difference this time either. Usyk’s boxing science and intelligence, his greater speed and variety of shots, allow him to bridge the physical gap. These are the qualities of super champions. The 37-year-old left-handed Ukrainian had already shown them when he became Olympic light heavyweight champion in London 2012, champion of the 4 main professional acronyms in light heavyweight and now he reiterates them in the queen categories, crowning a career made so far of 23 victories in 23 matches, 14 knockouts. And who knows where it might still go. Meanwhile he collects another Arabian Nights bag. The boxers should share a nest egg of around 150 million euros, 50 more than the first match.

the verdict

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As in the first fight, Fury started strong, was ahead for a long time, but was overtaken at the distance with the ninth round still important in the turning point. Match of great intensity also in this case, but unlike the previous one (split decision with one judge who gave the victory to Fury) all three judges were unanimous in their verdict, giving the Ukrainian a 4 point advantage. Something not unusual and therefore significant. Everyone saw the meeting the same way.

the match

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First round with Fury more active with the jab, both working the body. Another round in favor of Fury who alternates the jab with right hands to the body and lands clean shots. In the third Usyk hits more shots with right and left hands, Fury tries to keep his distance, it’s the Ukrainian’s best round. Fourth round, Usyk starts well and manages to touch and enter, but in the final minute Fury responds well with a right, including a good uppercut. Fifth round still in favor of Fury, maintaining the distance he touches with powerful right hands and throws Usyk’s reactions out of gear, who however makes up for it by winning the sixth round with some right hands at the end that put Fury in difficulty. It is the clearest round in favor of the champion. At the moment we are 58-56 for the challenger, according to our card, who does not do any of the bluster of previous matches, is focused on the opponent, attentive in defense and is winning the match, albeit by a small margin. But he began to feel tired and in the following two rounds Usyk’s pressure allowed him to land the best shots, equalize the contest and to overtake in the following two rounds, fought along this line. With 2 rounds to go Usyk leads by 2 points. The best attacks allow him to win the 11th round too, now he can only lose by knockout. Fury looks for it in the last round, especially uppercuts and wide hooks, places the best shots, but fails to turn the tide. Usyk also wins the rematch, but it was another exciting match.

the sub-point

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The results of the other matches of the meeting promoted by Matchroom, Queensberry and Gold star. The Ukrainians Lapin, Novytsky, the British Fisher and Ituma maintain their unbeaten record, the Welshman Edwars loses it. Featherweight: Peter McGrail (11-1) beats Rhys Edwards (16-1) on points; Lee Mc Gregor (15-1-1) b. Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). Lightweight: Mohammed Alakel (1) beats Joshua Ocampo (Col, 8-33-5) on points. Super welterweight: Serii Bohachuc (25-2) beats Ismahel Davies (13-2) 6th round abandonment. Light heavyweight: Daniel Lapin (11) beats Dylan Collin (Fra, 14-1) on points. Heavyweights: Andrii Novytsky (14) beats Edgar Ramirez (11-2-1) on points; Jonny Fisher (13) beats David Allen (23-7-2): Moses Ituma (11) beats Dmesey McKean (22-2) 1st round knockout.