Oleksandr Usyk was declared the undisputed heavyweight champion after producing the most remarkable of performances to inflict the first defeat of Tyson Fury’s distinguished career.
After appearing to struggle with the significant size disadvantage at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he masterfully made adjustments to repeatedly hurt Fury and almost knock him down in a consistently thrilling affair.
The Ukrainian was awarded scores of 115-112, 114-113 and 113-114 to be declared the victor via split decision, but he and Fury will both know the extent to which he threatened to stop Fury in the ninth round.
Fury, 35 and previously the WBC heavyweight champion, had entered their long sought-after contest with a reputation as one of the finest heavyweights in history. Instead it was Usyk, 37 and already the IBF, WBA and WBO champion, who proved himself one of the very finest fighters of all time.
As early as the opening round Usyk landed the punch that was to define their contest – the overhand left. There similarly were signs of how much energy he would have to use to succeed against a fighter recognised for his stamina and resilience, as well as the showboating from Fury with which he would have to contend.
A right-left combination from Usyk succeeded in the second round, whereupon Fury started to find his range with his jab. A jab-right was followed by a right uppercut and Fury then timing another fine right uppercut as he developed the rhythm that would largely determine the middle rounds.
Fury landed a straight right followed by a left-right towards the start of the third and looked content on the back foot. When Usyk landed a left hand he responded with a right to the body, in the same way successive body punches succeeded towards the start of the fourth. To then watch Usyk fall short with a left-right combination was to be reminded of the significant task he had as a natural cruiserweight fighting a champion who measures 6ft 9ins. Fury, the most natural of showmen, showboated again, watched Usyk fall short with a left hand and then responded with a left-right.
It was in the sixth that Usyk – after absorbing further right hands to the body in the fifth round – started to look tired and that Fury looked likeliest to build a convincing lead. After another right uppercut hurt Usyk one of Fury's team encouraged him to attack the Ukrainian but he resisted, and he patiently waited and instead finished the round with another right hand.
That both fighters are typically so effective when they have established a sense of momentum and rhythm made it tempting to believe that Fury was on course for victory and threatened the sense of tension in the air.
Instead Usyk – they are both admirably capable of making tactical adjustments – identified a route to victory and transformed the nature of their fight.
Successive straight lefts – not unlike those that hurt the similarly bigger Anthony Joshua early in their first fight in 2021 – in the seventh round stung Fury, who after further punishment in the eighth that included right and left hands and a right hand to the body took a further left-right and entered the ninth with blood pouring from his nose.
When Fury landed successive, less convincing right hands, Usyk responded by landing hurtful lefts. Another clean and accurate left hand snapped Fury’s head back and made him vulnerable, at which point Usyk – retaining his composure and technique – threw a succession of left hands that left Fury struggling to remain upright and reliant on the ropes to do so, as he then was again by another left-right when the referee Mark Nelson gave him a standing count.
Having been saved by the bell Fury appeared to have recovered somewhat in the 10th when he threw a combination, albeit without conviction, and then after Usyk swung and missed with another left, Fury landed a right uppercut to end the round.
The way that they exchanged body shots at the start of the 11th round demonstrated the extent to which they remained so evenly poised, and yet Usyk – uncharacteristically – continued to march forward with considerably less care and again showed his class by finding a right and then an overhand left.
It had become clear that Fury needed to win the 12th to have any hope of avoiding defeat, and while he caught the eye with a combination, the superior quality of punching again came from Usyk, in the form of further left and right hands.
The fighters had arrived in Riyadh aware that they each had a clause in their contract to ensure a rematch. Before he had left the ring Fury – full of respect for Usyk’s performance – spoke of his desire for them to fight again later in 2024 and of his belief that it was he, at the conclusion of the first undisputed heavyweight title fight since that between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield in 1999, who had won.