Oleksandr Usyk says his rematch win over Tyson Fury on Saturday night was “easier” than his previous one in their first fight last May. Usyk (23-0, 12 KOs) successfully defended his three belts, WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight titles, beating Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) for the second time in Riyadh,
Usyk isn’t necessarily an easy fight for him, but it was “easier” than their previous one, which the judges scored as a 12-round split decision. This time, they gave it to Usyk by a 12-round unanimous decision with scores 116-112, 116-112, and 116-112.
Usyk outlanded Fury by a wide margin with a higher connect rate. He clearly was the better fighter, appearing to sweep the final seven rounds.
The ‘Gypsy King’ had his moments in the rematch, but when he did, Usyk would come back immediately, landing several hard blows to get the upper hand. This pattern repeated itself in every round.
Fury’s Tantrum
After the scores were announced after the fight, Tyson stormed out of the ring, looking childish and not wanting to stick around to talk to the media. It’s a passive-aggressive move that people use to manipulate others to get their way.
In this case, this behavior made Fury look like a sulking infant. Tyson looked worse when he showed up at the post-fight press conference and insisted that he won, saying the judges had given Usyk a “Christmas gift.”
“The fight was easy. Not easy but easier than the first one,” said Oleksandr Usyk at the post-fight press conference on Saturday night after beating Tyson Fury in their rematch in Riyadh. “Tyson Fury is a great opponent. He’s a tough boxer and a big man.
“Uncle Frank is blind,” said Usyk about Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, believing Tyson deserved the win by three or four rounds. “If Fury said this is a ‘Christmas gift,’ okay. Frank is a crazy man, I think. Okay, no problem. I win.”
Usyk was telling it like it was, giving his thoughts on Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, believing he deserved the win. It had to have been disappointing for Warren to watch Fury lose because it means that the trilogy fight between him and Usyk that Turki Alalshikh had spoken about is now off the table. Fury still has Anthony Joshua to make big money fighting in 2025, but there won’t be an additional massive payday against Usyk in a third fight.
Oleksandr Swept Backstretch
“I did [agree with the scores]. The first rounds were close. Tyson had a few of the middle rounds, but in the backstretch, the last six, Usych pretty much had them all,” said Sunny Edwards to Fight Hub TV.
“It wasn’t as great a fight as the first time, but you could see that both men respected each other. They weren’t trying to give too much away, but when they started letting their hands go, the fireworks game. It was a bit too late. It wasn’t the most classic spectacle, but Usyk did what he had to for him to win.
“I think Fury tactically was a lot better. He stayed on his side of things. He was punching and trying to negate the work of Usyk,” said Edwards.
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