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Sunday December 22, 2024

Usyk beats Fury in heavyweight championship rematch

By AFP
December 23, 2024
Ukraines Oleksandr Usyk (blue trunks) gets the measure of Britains Tyson Fury (red trunks) in Usyks unanimous decision victory in their heavyweight world title fight at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. — AFP/File
Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk (blue trunks) gets the measure of Britain's Tyson Fury (red trunks) in Usyk's unanimous decision victory in their heavyweight world title fight at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. — AFP/File

RIYADH: Oleksandr Usyk won his heavyweight championship rematch against Tyson Fury by unanimous decision overnight on Saturday to stay unbeaten across two divisions and cement his place among the greats.

The Ukrainian, who forced the pace and repeatedly tagged Fury with his accurate left hook, was awarded the fight 116-112 by all three judges, handing Fury his second straight loss. Usyk´s win takes him to 23-0 with 14 knockouts and extends one of the all-time best careers that includes Olympic gold and undisputed champion at cruiserweight.

“He´s a great fighter, it´s a great performance,” Usyk, 37, said of Fury, who was unbeaten over 35 fights until he lost their four-belt unification bout in May. “Unbelievable 24 rounds for my career.” Only the WBA, WBO and WBC belts were on the line this time after Usyk, focused on the lucrative rematch, relinquished his IBF title rather than face challenger Daniel Dubois.