May 19th 2024.
Tyson Fury is confident that he had done enough to secure a victory over Oleksandr Usyk in their highly-anticipated undisputed fight. However, things did not go as planned for the undefeated boxer as he suffered his first professional defeat in a split-decision loss to Usyk on Saturday evening.
With the win, Usyk is now the proud owner of all the major heavyweight titles, including Fury's WBC belt, which he snatched from Anthony Joshua in a previous fight. The Gypsy King was initially leading on two of the judges' scorecards after eight rounds, but things took a dramatic turn in the ninth round when Usyk landed a series of powerful shots to Fury's head, forcing the referee to give him a standing count.
Although Fury managed to get back on his feet, he struggled to regain his composure in the later rounds, which ultimately led to Usyk's victory. The official scorecard showed that judge Manuel Oliver Palermo of Spain scored the fight 115-112 in favor of Usyk, while Mike Fitzgerald had a slightly closer score of 114-113, also in favor of Usyk. However, the third judge, Craig Metcalfe of Canada, saw the fight differently and gave a score of 114-113 in favor of Fury.
In his post-fight interview in Saudi Arabia, Fury stated, "I thought I was dominating the fight. If my corner had told me to go for the finish in the final round, I would have done it, but we all believed we were ahead." He continued, "In the first six rounds, Usyk may have won one, but it was a close fight, and I gave it my all. Unfortunately, I fell short."
According to Compubox, which tracks boxing statistics, Usyk is shown to have landed more punches and with better accuracy throughout the 12 rounds. This comes as no surprise to former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, who criticized Fury's strategy in the ring. "Fury was boxing like he had already won the fight," Lewis commented during an interview with DAZN. "No boxer should ever assume they have won a round. Every close round should be seen as a loss and fought for until the very end."
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