Seven months after a thrilling first fight, unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) will defend his WBC, WBA and WBO titles against Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury (34-1-1 , 24 KOs) on Saturday, December 21 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, live on DAZN PPV.
The first Usyk vs Fury encounter was an instant classic, as Fury was in control for the first half of the fight, and Usyk looked dominant. The highly anticipated rematch is set for this coming Saturday as Usyk looks for a repeat, and Fury looks for redemption. December 1st, 2018 marked the start of what would be a very entertaining trilogy between Tyson Fury and hard hitting WBC champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder. In the first fight, Wilder’s power was on display when he scored a knockout in the 9th round.
In the 12th and final round, Deontay Wilder landed a two-three combination that appeared to knock Tyson Fury out cold. Once the referee’s count hit 6, Fury emerged as WWE wrestler ‘The Undertaker’. Wilder scored the two knockouts, but Fury outboxed Wilder through most of the other rounds.
At the end of the 12-round contest, the match was declared a split decision draw. Fury and Wilder would cross paths twice more as Fury was able to come away with two convincing wins.
After the trilogy with Wilder, Fury went on to stop both Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora. In October 2023, Fury had a lackluster performance when he defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou by split decision. Seven months after the Ngannou fight, Fury stepped into the ring to take part in a historic fight.
After dominating the cruiserweight division, Oleksandr Usyk made his heavyweight debut in October 2019 when he stopped Chazz Witherspoon in the 7th round. A year later, Usyk defeated Derek Chisora ​​by unanimous decision.
The former king of the cruiserweights would go on to face the unified world heavyweight champion. On the night of September 25, 2021, Oleksandr Usyk outboxed Anthony Joshua and won the world title fight by unanimous decision. With the victory, Usyk became the new WBA, WBO and IBF world heavyweight champion.
Eleven months later, a man considered one of the best heavyweights of this era, Anthony Joshua, got his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua made the adjustments to make the rematch more competitive, but Usyk was still able to come away with the split-decision victory.
Oleksandr Usyk would go on to make a second successful defense of his unified title by stopping Daniel Dubois in the 9th round. Next on Usyk’s agenda was a match against another heavyweight who is considered one of the best of this era.
On the night of May 18, 2024, in a fight for the undisputed world heavyweight crown, WBC champion Tyson Fury got off to a good start by staying on the outside, using his finesse and consistently punching have. In round number 2, Usyk stayed on the front foot, sliding from side to side and landing both jabs and lefts to the body.
For most of the first half of the fight, Usyk was the aggressor, but Fury did a good job of controlling the range and boxing off the back foot. After landing solid shots to Usyk’s body, Fury ended the sixth round by connecting with a sharp uppercut that hurt Usyk.
During the second half of the fight, the southpaw Usyk continued to push forward, sliding from side to side and applying both physical and mental pressure. Late in round 9, Usyk landed a hard left hand that staggered Fury. Usyk continued to land a flurry of shots as Fury staggered around the ring until he finally went down.
Fury survived the knockdown, but otherwise Usyk was the stronger and more active fighter. At the end of the 12-round contest, Oleksandr Usyk won by split decision, becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999.
Usyk also achieved the feat of winning the undisputed crown in two divisions. Weeks after his historic victory, Usyk was stripped of the IBF title. Now his rematch against Tyson Fury is a unified world title match.
Tyson Fury is the key to the rematch because he is the man who has to make the adjustments. In the first half of the first fight, Fury boxed well from the back foot until he made a critical error. So the question is, will Fury try to duplicate his performance with the omission of the mistake, or will he fight off the front foot and be the aggressor?
Oleksandr Usyk is a matchup nightmare due to the fact that he has elite-level boxing skills, footwork and ring IQ. His opponent, Tyson Fury, is a master when it comes to making the necessary adjustments. With that said, on December 21, when Usyk and Fury meet for a second time, will it be a repeat or redemption?
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