Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk: Judges' Scorecards Revealed for Every Round from Fight
Oleksandr Usyk became undisputed heavyweight champion Saturday with a split-decision victory over Tyson Fury, with a ninth-round knockdown playing the key factor in the triumph.
Manuel Oliver Palomo scored the fight 115-112 in favor of Usyk, while Mike Fitzgerald gave Usyk a narrow 114-113 margin to give him the split decision. Craig Metcalfe gave the nod to Fury with a 114-113 card.
Usyk was a more efficient puncher, landing 42 percent of his shots to Fury's 32 percent, and also hit 122 power punches to his opponent's 95. The Ukranian seemed to take over the fight as it progressed, using his fitness and power to hit a flurry of left hands to leave the formerly undefeated Fury reeling.
Fury, who was better in the middle of the fight before fading in the latter rounds, said he still believed he did enough to win.
"I believe I won the fight, but I'm not going to sit here and cry and make excuses," Fury said after the fight. "I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority of them. What can you do? We both put on a good fight, the best we could do. ... People are siding with the country at war. But make no mistake, I won that fight ... and I'll be back. We've got a rematch clause."
Fury's reputation in pound-for-pound rankings will almost certainly take a hit. The Brit was coming off a largely dreadful performance in a split-decision win over Francis Ngannou, who was fighting in his first professional boxing bout. Fury did seem to take Usyk more seriously, coming in at a slim 262 pounds, but still saw his fitness fade late.
As Fury noted, their contract comes with a rematch clause, so it's a virtual certainty we'll see them square off at least one more time—potentially even later this year.
