1) Oleksandr Usyk is the best heavyweight in the world
Of all the things we learned from Saturday’s fight, this is all we really needed to know in the end. If there was any uncertainty about it beforehand, we are now sure beyond a doubt that Oleksandr Usyk is a better heavyweight than Tyson Fury and for now the number one fighter in the division. How nice and rare it is to possess such knowledge, too.
2) Fury thought he won by three rounds
It wasn’t clear in the aftermath of the fight whether Fury raising his arms and celebrating was a sign of his conviction or concern, but either way he didn’t get the decision he felt he deserved. Later, he would say Usyk had been given “a Christmas gift” by the three judges and reveal that he felt he had won the fight by three rounds. Few outside his team, however, shared this opinion.
3) Body shots are a sign of excellence
Rare is to see large heavyweights dig to the body with anything more than desperation, yet on Saturday night we witnessed two heavyweights use body shots with a great deal of intelligence. Fury would slam wide hooks into Usyk’s ribs in an attempt to slow him down, while Usyk, the sharper of the two, would throw his jab at Fury’s midsection and use this as a means of both getting closer to him and preventing him from being able to set.
4) The first fight was better
As is often the case with rematches, the second fight between Usyk and Fury, while compelling in its own right, lacked the same drama and shock factor as the original. Second time around both were more measured and of course familiar with each other. Second time around we, the fans, were starved of that one big moment – as witnessed in round nine in May – and the kind of momentum shifts we saw in the ring seven months ago.
5) Judges can actually agree sometimes
While not all the rounds were scored the same, there was still something quite refreshing about the sound of Michael Buffer telling the world that all three ringside judges had posted the exact same score: 116-112. As well as it sounding pleasant to the ears, it also gave the result a certain conviction and robustness, making it then difficult for Fury and his promoter, Frank Warren, to debate it too vociferously in the aftermath.
6) The AI-powered judge had it 118-112
Pushed as a gimmick before the fight by the event’s financier, Turki Alalshikh, Saturday’s AI-powered judge managed to score its way out of a job in the space of just 36 minutes. “Fuck all the computers,” said Tyson Fury when learning how the “judge” had scored the fight. “Keep the humans going. More jobs for humans, less jobs for computers. Fuck electric cars, too, while we’re at it.”
7) Daniel Dubois doesn’t get it
It is hard to blame Daniel Dubois for his post-fight antics on Saturday, for typically he is a wind-up toy programmed and instructed by other people. Yet, equally, Dubois is now a man of 27 and should have had a bit more self-awareness and decorum when deciding or being told to call out Usyk just minutes after the Ukrainian had received confirmation of his unanimous decision win. There was, at that stage, really no need for it.
8) Usyk is a patient, generous man
Not only did Usyk take Dubois’ interruption in his stride, and resist the temptation to either dismiss or embarrass him, he also showed some interest in entertaining Dubois’ call for a rematch. That, on the face of it, seems a rematch quite unnecessary given how easily Usyk dissected Dubois in 2023, but what can’t be denied is Dubois’ form since that night, or indeed the lack of other serious heavyweight contenders right now.
Although it is never a certainty following the completion of a tough task, Usyk, at 37, seems quite happy to continue defending his heavyweight title in 2025. In the space of just 23 pro fights, the masterful Ukrainian has completed both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, yet remains motivated enough to go again. First, though, he wants to switch off his phone and spend time with his family. Frankly, who can blame him?
10) Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua has never been closer
To say it is close may be a stretch, but there is now a certain desperation surrounding Fury vs Joshua which can only mean there is a far better chance of it happening than there was a few years ago when both were riding high and afraid of coming undone. Now, as they both come off defeats, it makes sense to do the fight, but only if it takes place in Great Britain. If, conversely, it ends up in Saudi Arabia, there really could be no better way of saying, “Yes, we dropped the ball on this one,” and, “Yes, it’s true, we have no idea what we’re doing.”
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