Lucas Jones
For the first time in the four-belt era, the undisputed heavyweight boxing championship was on the line on Saturday when Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury put on an instant classic in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) rallied in the second half to take down Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) and nearly stopped him in round 9 before holding on for a split decision victory to add the WBC and titles linear to his WBA, WBO and IBF belts.
Elsewhere on the card, Jai Opetaia regained the cruiserweight title he never lost in the ring against a familiar face. Opetaia defeated Mairis Briedis before surviving a late attack to win the IBF 200-pound title. The Australian is undefeated at 25-0 and has 19 knockouts under his belt. Additionally, Anthony Cacace pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year by stopping Joe Cordina from claiming the IBF super featherweight title. The 35-year-old badly injured Cordina early in the fight when the referee intervened to break up a clinch and Cordina never fully recovered as Cacace increased the pressure before the fight was stopped.
While we await the contractually obligated rematch that will likely take place this fall, let’s take a closer look at the biggest takeaways from an incredible “Ring of Fire” pay-per-view card from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
1. Despite the “Fight of the Century” tag, this somehow exceeded expectations
Talk about the right fight at the right time. Boxing was already trending aggressively upward following an incredible 2023. But that momentum has only continued into the new year thanks in no small part to continued financial investment from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has made so many fantasy matchups possible. . When done right, there is nothing in professional sports like heavyweight championship boxing. It’s just different. It can create lifelong boxing fans almost instantly by captivating the viewer with a gritty display of controlled violence. And Usyk joined Fury in the combination to co-author a thrilling spectacle that will not only demand the attention of the sporting world when they meet again later this year, but also showcased almost everything that is good about this disorganized and unpredictable sport. The adjustments made by both future Hall of Famers were brilliant, as the momentum changed hands multiple times in a fight that, from a scoring standpoint, literally could have gone either way. Everything about this fight triggered nothing but emotional, nostalgic feelings about how things used to be. Don’t look now, but boxing is back. In great shape.
2. Usyk Never Fought as the Smaller Man
Most experts predicted a 12-round chess match between these highly skilled big men, while others thought Fury’s size and power would be too much. Mid-fight adjustments made by the 6-foot-4 “Gypsy King” seemed to suggest the latter was inevitable, as Fury hurt Usyk repeatedly with right hands, body shots and a deep punch he couldn’t miss. But despite giving up six inches of height, four inches of reach and nearly 20 pounds on the scales to Fury, few could have predicted just how brave Usyk’s second-half climb would be. Usyk repeatedly increased the pace and cornered Fury with ease, but it wasn’t until round 9 that the fight’s real breakthrough moment really happened. Even though he isn’t known for having great power, the investment in outplaying Fury and repeatedly aiming for the body helped him tire out his opponent just enough to uncork a series of clean power shots that put Fury on the brink of danger. Referee Mark Nelson was generous in letting Fury swing from pillar to post as Usyk tried to finish. And Fury was saved by the bell after the ropes held him down (which was rightfully considered a knockdown), but Usyk simply ran out of time to close out the round. Despite going to the hospital immediately after the fight with a broken jaw, Usyk fought harder and constantly supported his larger opponent. He may have gotten to this point with footwork and sublime skill, but Usyk needed the true heart of a champion to nearly kill the true giant of the division.
3. Expect a heavier (and dirtier) Tyson Fury in the rematch
Fury, who reached his lowest weight in five years at 262 pounds, discovered the hard way the same thing that Anthony Joshua previously learned twice: There is no other heavyweight out there who can overcome Uysk over the 12-round distance. The fury certainly came close, of course, in this meeting between the two, the best heavyweights of this renaissance era. But Fury and his team will no doubt be surprised upon rewatching the fight by the ease with which the smaller Usyk was able to repeatedly corral and support Fury while relying on constant production to tire him out and slow him down. Usyk tried and landed more punches than Fury in each of the last five rounds to take home the disputed decision (while also landing the most punches of any Fury opponent, 170, in fights tracked by CompuBox). At 35, Fury may be two years younger than Usyk, but the physical toll it has taken on him as a pro has been much more considering Usyk’s defensive style and the fact that he turned pro late after a long (and well) -successful) amateur career that culminated in a 2012 Olympic gold medal. That’s not to say Fury was washed up or overtaken. But given the scare he survived against former UFC champion Francis Ngannou last fall, Fury appears closer to the end than his absolute peak. And Fury’s father, former heavyweight boxer “Gypsy” John Fury, has also long maintained that his son is a better and more dangerous fighter the heavier he is. He expects Fury to gain strength and adopt a more aggressive style in the rematch, aiming to support and attack Usyk in the clinch to tire his opponent faster. Fury is also at his best when flirting with breaking the rules, as his overly competitive and survival instincts tend to take over. The more Fury can rely on his physical advantages and force Usyk into more of a fight than a boxing match, the results could be different the second time around.
4. Usyk’s undisputed reign won’t last more than a few weeks
No, unfortunately, this is not a typo. Despite all the great things boxing has done lately, including putting on an undisputed heavyweight title fight for the first time in 25 years, there are still enough politics and bureaucracy in the sport to cause more than a few headaches. Both boxing and Usyk can enjoy the fact that the sport’s most important division finally has a name and a face like its champion, but the multiple delays that caused this fight to take so long to happen have also taken a toll. Filip Hrgovic, the mandatory challenger for Usyk’s IBF title, has twice already accepted cash withdrawals to prolong his right to profit from the title fight. But the undefeated Croatian has decided he won’t wait any longer. With Usyk and Fury likely headed for a contractually obligated rematch, Usyk will be stripped of his title on June 1 when Hrgovic returns to Saudi Arabia to face Daniel Dubois for the vacant title. The winner is expected to fight Anthony Joshua later this year, meaning a new race to fully unify all four titles will need to take place. This might seem like a one-step-forward, two-steps-back scenario for the sport after the height of Usyk’s victory (mostly, because it is). But the stakes will rise when the winner of Usyk-Fury II, in theory, faces the winner of Hrgovic/Dubois-Joshua in 2025 for the new undisputed crown.
5. Usyk is about to write his own chapter in boxing history
The Ukraine native will likely need a second win over Fury to truly emerge as the face of this resurgent heavyweight era. But considering everything else he’s accomplished to get to this point – from Olympic gold to becoming the first four-belt undisputed cruiserweight champion in boxing history six years ago, it’s safe to say that Usyk is on his way to creating a unique legacy. As the smallest of the elite competitors in this super heavyweight era, Usyk has proven himself to be a giant among giant men. And considering that many already see him as the greatest cruiserweight the sport has ever seen, after coming through the division’s deepest pool in decades to win the World Boxing Super Series tournament, adding the title of best heavyweight of this century (alongside by compatriot Wladimir Klitshcko) is not an easy task. Usyk is as mentally strong as any boxer in years and fights for much more than money or fame, while proudly representing his home country at every step. He even put his career on hold for an entire year, starting in late 2022, to join soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine during the ongoing war with Russia. Usyk is wholesome and hilarious in the way he carries himself and continues to be an incredible ambassador for the sport in general. And even though history will probably point to the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez as the faces of the sport over the past two decades, Uysk’s pound-for-pound achievements are on par with any of them.
