Lucas Jones
For the first time since 1999, the undisputed heavyweight championship will be on the line in boxing on Saturday in a historic four-belt unification between undefeated champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
The pair of future Hall of Fame heavyweights will face off in the main event of a pay-per-view card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight is the first of two expected meetings this year between Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs), the lineal and WBC champion, and Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs), who holds the WBO, WBA and IBF titles. .
As we get closer to this weekend’s big event, let’s take a look at the biggest stories.
1. Eight years later, it’s (finally) one name, one face, and one division
Fury’s surprise victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 created a changing of the guard at the top of the division, sparking the potential for an era of heavyweight renaissance that fans continue to enjoy to this day. Historians’ long-held belief that “as the heavyweight division progresses, so does boxing” could not have become truer in recent years, as a steady stream of marquee fights involving everyone from Fury and Usyk to former champions Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder, have helped the sport rise to new heights. But make no mistake, Saturday’s fight marks the true culmination of the promise that began some eight years ago when Fury first gained control of the division in such masterful fashion.
Boxing may be on the rise right now, thanks in large part to the huge financial commitment from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. But nothing truly represents the idea of boxing, a sport best known in this century for its disorganization and fragmented power control, having its things tied together as a singular champion in possession of all the belts. Not since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in their rematch during the final year of the previous century has boxing had a singularly recognizable face at the top of its division before the mass proliferation of watered-down titles. It may have taken some time to get here, but the last two remaining undefeated champions were left standing, just one awaiting the other, as the final test to crown the singular face of this exciting new era.
2. At 35, is Tyson Fury still the same guy from the Deontay Wilder trilogy?
That’s the biggest question surrounding the downsides of this classic matchup. For years, as the idea of this fight continued to come into focus, most believed that no matter how good Usyk was as a former cruiserweight champion moving up in weight, the 6-foot-4 Fury will always be too tall, too long and skillful to succumb to the exhilarating technical prowess of Ukraine’s former Olympic gold medalist. But since Usyk finished off two surprise wins over Joshua to claim a trio of titles in 2022, thus making the undisputed fight with Fury the next logical choice, the “Gypsy King” hasn’t looked or sounded the same. Fury, who defeated Dillian Whyte with a single punch just four months before Usyk defeated Joshua in their rematch, never made it seem like he wanted the fight with Usyk. In fact, he was heavily criticized for inexplicably delaying the fight for another year by publicly wrongly stating that Usyk was demanding too much money. Fury then closed out 2022 with an unnecessary trilogy fight with Derek Chisora, only to sit out another 11 months before returning, not against Usyk, but in a throwaway fight with boxing newcomer and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, who saw an overweight Fury taken down. and lucky to survive with a disputed split decision victory. Fury may be two years younger than 37-year-old Usyk, but questions remain about his tough lifestyle outside the ring and the fact that some believe he has never looked the same inside the ring since leaving the screen twice for finish Wilder. in his 2021 trilogy. While Fury is still the legitimate betting favorite this weekend, it’s not so much anymore as oddsmakers have listed the fight as a virtual pick.
3. Good luck trying to play mind games against Oleksandr Usyk
While Fury has benefited for years from the ability to intrigue his opponents due to odd behavior and constant unpredictability on the mic, it’s been fascinating to watch how little effect any of those same tactics have had on Usyk. A mental savant, both in terms of his analytical ability to break down his opponents and his stoic demeanor, Usyk has always seemed to have the wild card when it comes to being so difficult to read. Usyk also unleashed his own mental war against the master himself, calling out Fury for years on social media with hilarious videos mocking Fury’s belly fat and immediately avoiding signing the contract for this fight to happen. When you add in the fact that Usyk took an entire year off after Joshua fought to join the front lines of his home country’s war with Russia, only to return last August to knock out Daniel Dubois, you quickly realize the how different Usyk’s mindset is compared to those who have been fooled by Fury in the past.
Getty Images
4. Tyson Fury’s recent weight loss raises an interesting question
Shortly after Fury weighed in at just over 254 pounds in his 2019 title defense against Otto Wallin (his lightest since 2013), a major change occurred in his weight and fighting style. Wallin badly cut Fury in the eye, forcing the champion to rely on bracing and intimidating his opponent en route to a decision victory. The unlikely scare caused Fury to rethink some key parts of his game. He fired trainer Ben Davison immediately afterward and hired Javan “SugarHill” Steward, a disciple and nephew of Kronk Gym founder and Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, to teach him how to become a more devastating puncher. He also committed to a new body style and more bulk in his midsection, as Fury averaged 271 pounds in his next five fights, including the second scare last October against Ngannou, where Fury was visibly obese. But photos and videos from training camp for the Usyk fight showed Fury once again committed to his fitness and even the return of visible abdominal muscles. All of this raises an interesting question about what style he might use to try and win the fight. Given his advantages in height and overall size, most assumed Fury would try to use his size to corner and slow down the faster Usyk. But photos of Fury’s body suggest the real potential for something different. With considerable advantages in reach (three centimeters) and height (six centimeters) over Usyk, Fury’s reshaped body could suggest he is more likely to try and box from the outside, similar to how he tricked Klitschko behind a guard. active and constant feints. Either way, for a fighter who has so often performed above or below his level of competition, it’s good to see the respect Fury has for Usyk’s game and that he has seemingly left no stone unturned when it comes to preparation.
5. The story also beckons from an individual point of view
For all the talk about this being the first undisputed four-belt fight in heavyweight history, it’s hard not to look at what a victory could mean for both fighters’ resumes and legacies as well. Whether you love him or hate him, it’s hard to argue how historically relevant Fury has become to heavyweight history. Given his incredible size, fighting spirit, and the deft footwork he brings to the division, Fury is already a matchup problem for any of history’s great heavyweight kings from a mythical matchmaking perspective. . But adding a win over the undefeated Usyk, along with the inevitable money fight against Joshua still remaining for next year, Fury actually has an outside chance of finishing his career as a top 10 heavyweight. He’ll probably need to retire undefeated to do that, of course. However, given Usyk’s resume and the history at play in this fight, it goes without saying that this is the most important fight of Fury’s career when it comes to just how much a win would impact his long-term historical standing. Usyk, for his part, already has such a unique resume that it’s become difficult to imagine what adding a win over Fury could mean for how we’ll remember him in the years to come.
Usyk was already 26 when he turned pro after a run for Olympic heavyweight gold in 2012. But even if he doesn’t have the global fanfare that surrounds Fury, he could end up with an even better resume when all is said and done. Usyk’s run to become the first four-belt undisputed champion in cruiserweight history left him, upon leaving in 2018, as possibly the greatest fighter ever (relative to Holyfield) in the history of the division. Usyk won the World Boxing Super Series tournament title in his run to four cruiserweight belts by defeating literally every big name in the division, including then-undefeated champions Mairis Breidis and Murat Gassiev. After knocking out former world champion Tony Bellew in his final cruiserweight fight later that year, Usyk began his attack on heavyweight amid rumors that he was too small and lacked the strength and chin to compete with the big boys. But just five years later, after defeats to Chisora, Joshua (twice) and Dubois, Usyk has the chance to add two more victories over Fury (thanks to the contractually obligatory rematch), which could give historians headaches trying to figure out exactly what to do with such a special and unique career. Should he achieve victory, Usyk would join current pound-for-pound contemporaries Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue as the only men to earn undisputed four-belt status across multiple divisions.
