Lucas Jones
Fights don’t get much bigger than Saturday’s showdown between WBC champion Tyson Fury and IBF, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk. The winner of the fight will emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era and the first man in boxing’s glamor division to gain undisputed status in any form since Lennox Lewis was stripped of the WBA championship in 2000.
Boxing fans have been impatiently waiting for Fury and Usyk to share the ring for some time now. Negotiations between the two broke down several times before plans for a showdown in December 2023 were scuppered when Fury was nearly defeated by Francis Ngannou in October. The fight was then rescheduled for February 17, only for Fury to suffer a cut while fighting two weeks before the fight.
The fighters are now expected to move on when they face off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, with plenty of intrigue surrounding how the fight will play out.
Fury is unbeaten in 35 career fights, with the only blemish on his record a 2018 draw in his first meeting with Deontay Wilder. He won his first world title with a 2015 decision victory over Wladimir Klitschko to claim the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Fury then gained substantial weight and dealt with several injuries before failed drug tests sidelined him for over two years, costing him his world titles in the process.
The first fight with Wilder came two fights after Fury’s return to boxing and many observers felt that the ‘Gypsy King’ clearly did enough to win the fight, even recovering from a late knockdown that would have finished almost any other fighter on the planet. . Three fights later, Fury and Wilder were in the ring once again, with Fury dominating the fight before a stoppage in Round 7 to win the WBC title. An 11th round knockout of Wilder was next, as Fury cemented his place at the top of the division.
Fury went on to easily handle Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora before disaster nearly struck against former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou. Fury looked out of shape for the fight and had difficulty dealing with a fighter making his boxing debut, even having to get up from the canvas after a solid shot in the third round before taking a narrow split decision.
Usyk brings his own career to the ring with an unblemished 21-0 record.
After becoming WBO cruiserweight champion in 2016 and making two successful title defenses, Usyk entered the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament. The tournament featured eight fighters, including all four world champions.
In the tournament, Usyk defeated Marco Huck by TKO, defeated Mairis Briedis by majority decision to add the WBC title to his collection, and took a unanimous decision over Murat Gassiev in the finals to capture the WBA and IBF titles and become undisputed lightweight champion. crossed.
Following a victory over Tony Bellew, Usyk announced his intentions to move up to the heavyweight division.
Usyk has continued his successful career since moving up, stopping Chazz Witherspoon and taking a decision over Chisora before getting the chance to become unified champion against Anthony Joshua.
Usyk put on a masterful boxing display against Joshua in September 2021, rocking the unified multi-champion multiple times in the fight en route to a clear decision win. The pair would rematch the following year, with Usyk winning a more competitive fight via split decision.
Last year, Usyk defended his unified status again when he defeated Daniel Dubois in the ninth round.
Fury vs. Usyk, odds
- Tyson Fury (c) -120 vs. Oleksandr Usyk (c) +100, undisputed heavyweight championship
- Jai Opetaia -600 vs. Mairis Briedis +450, IBF cruiserweight championship vacant
- Frank Sanchez -225 vs. Agit Kabayel +188, heavyweights
- Joe Cordina (c) -500 vs. Anthony Cacace +400, IBF super featherweight championship
- Robin Sirwan Safar -150 vs. Sergey Kovalev +125, cruiserweight
Read our full undercard preview here.
Viewing information
- Date: May 18
- Location: Kingdom Arena – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Start time: 12 p.m. ET
- How to watch: DAZN PPV, ESPN PPV, PPV.com | Price: $69.99
Predictions
Brent Brookhouse: This is a very difficult fight to pick. Usyk is a masterful boxer and his speed and technique can cause Fury attacks. This would be especially true if Fury appeared out of shape once again. However, all indications are that Fury is in the best shape he has been in years.
Fury has good power and impressive defense and footwork for a man his size, but it’s that size that could be the biggest factor in the fight. Fury is a master at leaning on opponents and draining their energy. The move backfired against Ngannou, in part because, as a career mixed martial artist, Ngannou is an expert at working from the clinch. Ngannou is also much bigger than Usyk and it’s possible that Fury will be able to jump from a distance and lean on Usyk whenever the smaller man enters.
As much as I want to pick the surprise because Usyk has every chance of winning the fight, Fury is a tough puzzle to solve and the size advantage just tilts things a little too much in Fury’s favor in the end. Expect a close fight with both men having solid moments before a close decision on the scorecards. Pick: Tyson Fury via SD
Brian Campbell: There’s no way this won’t turn into a 12-round chess match of the most epic proportions when the two most skilled big men of this century finally face off. Fury’s size will definitely be an important factor, as his advantages in height (15 centimeters) and reach (18 centimeters) cannot be ignored. But neither does the absolute magic of what Usyk brings to the table. In this era of super heavyweights, he is always the smaller man. But to this point, particularly in his two title defeats over Anthony Joshua, he hasn’t caught up to the Ukrainian southpaw.
Fury is used to being the most skilled and dynamic boxer in the ring, always. This time will be different. If Fury is unable to truly establish himself as the bigger man and slow Usyk down with a combination of body shots and clinch strikes, the question will likely be who can win seven rounds first. Usyk was never physically dominated or controlled by Joshua. And as long as he can win the footwork battle and give Fury enough to think about timing his counter-left crosses, this is yet another surprise Usyk can spring. He is very skillful and daring. Choice: Usyk via SD12
