Round-by-round: Usyk defeats Fury again, retains heavyweight titles

Oleksandr Usyk meets Tyson Fury for the WBC, WBO and WBA heavyweight world titles on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The fight is a rematch of Usyk’s split-decision victory over Fury in May. Fury was ahead on two scorecards after eight rounds (77-75, 77-75 and 76-76), but Usyk knocked down Fury in Round 9 and won the next two rounds to move ahead on two scorecards and win 115-112, 114-113 and 113-114. The victory crowned Usyk as the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era.

Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), 37, of Crimea, Ukraine, is a former undisputed cruiserweight champion. He moved up to the heavyweight division in 2019 and has amassed six consecutive victories, including a unanimous decision against Anthony Joshua to capture the WBO, WBA and IBF titles in 2021. He defeated Joshua again in the rematch 11 months later to retain the belts.

“It’s [a] big opportunity for me, for my family, for my country, for history,” said Usyk after defeating Fury in May. “It’s [a] great day.”

Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs), 36, of Manchester, England, last won in a lackluster performance against former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in a boxing match in October 2023. Fury edged a split-decision win, but was knocked down in Round 3 and looked to be in trouble throughout the fight.

“Obviously it’s a massive, massive fight for both of us,” Fury told ESPN in October about the rematch with Usyk. “And it’s gonna be a tough fight either way, and obviously I want to win badly because obviously I want to avenge my only loss and it means a lot because I get the rematch straight away rather than having to chase someone around for the rematch.”

Stay here for results and round-by-round analysis from Riyadh.