RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 21: Oleksandr Usyk punches Tyson Fury during the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC … [+]
Oleksandr Usyk successfully defended his IBF, WBA, and WBC heavyweight championships with a unanimous decision win over Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.
All three judges scored the fight 116-112. The unofficial A.I. judge scored it even wider for Usyk at 118-112.
Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was the unofficial judge for DAZN, though he wasn’t present at the event. He scored the fight closer, but for Usyk, 115-114.
Here is a look at the punch stats from CompuBox. The numbers show Usyk out-landed Fury in ten of the 12 rounds.
Usy-Fury2
The boxing community rang in with their own opinions on the human and A.I. judge scorecards. Full Send MMA was not a fan of the A.I. judge’s scorecard.
Combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani scored the fight for Usyk, just a little tighter than the official judges, and much tighter than the A.I. judge.
Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter was pleased to see all of the official judges deliver the same scores.
Fury, who didn’t stick around for a post-fight interview, believed he won the fight by “at least three rounds.” He shared his thoughts during a brief and impromptu interview as he walked to his dressing room.
For the record, I scored the fight a draw, as did Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. I wouldn’t classify the official decision as a robbery, but I felt Fury won the first three rounds. That start generated a lead that Usyk ate away at for most of the rest of the fight—in my opinion.
However, the official judges had Fury playing catch-up.
What’s next for Usyk? It would appear it’ll be the winner of Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker. Dubois was on hand, and he rather clumsily crashed Usyk’s post-fight interview to issue his challenge and express his desire for a rematch.
Usyk has already fought and stopped Dubois, but since their fight in August 2023, Dubois has scored stoppage wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Anthony Joshua. Dubois is the reigning IBF heavyweight champion and is scheduled to defend his title against Joseph Parker on February 22.
If he wins, Usyk has accepted his challenge.
As for Fury, it’s a tough loss. He tried a different approach in the rematch, but it wasn’t enough. Thankfully, Fury has made a load of money in his career, and arguably the biggest payday is still on the table.
A Fury-Joshua fight makes more sense now than it ever has in the two Brits’ rivalry. Joshua is coming off a loss to Dubois, and Fury has now lost back-to-back fights to Usyk. The two men should clash during the summer of 2025 at Wembley Stadium, and both will walk away with mammoth checks for their efforts.
