In May, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury over 12 rounds to become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion in the modern four-belt era, and he also became the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since the great Lennox Lewis held the distinction nearly a quarter of a century earlier.
Usyk and Fury are scheduled to have a rematch on December 21 at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia, in a match that will be streamed on DAZN PPV
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Since their first meeting, Usyk is no longer technically undisputed, although he is clearly still the king of the heavyweight division. Usyk vacated the IBF belt in June, just over a month after beating Fury, and Daniel Dubois (a former Usyk victim) has since been elevated from IBF interim champion to the real deal. So the rematch between Usyk and Fury will be for 3 of the big 4 belts (WBA, WBC and WBO) as well as a rightful claim to the linear world heavyweight championship.
During their first fight, Fury had more success against Usyk than any other heavyweight opponent since Usyk made the jump from cruiserweight. Indeed, during the middle portions of the fight, starting in round 3, Fury looked to be in control for a significant stretch that lasted through rounds 4, 5 and 6, before his momentum began to fizzle out in round 7 . By round 8, Usyk was the one building momentum, and in round 9, Usyk unleashed a heavy blow on Fury that led to a takedown. To his credit, Fury beat the score and even made it a fight again and survived until the final bell. But despite the heart exhibited by Fury, and the fact that he made another fight out of it, Usyk still did the best work in the final stretch far more often than not.
Can Tyson Fury win the rematch against Oleksandr Usyk?
This issue of Rummy’s Corner will try to answer that question and also give a quick overview of their first meeting. Please watch and enjoy the video for one man’s opinion. This is Rummy’s Corner (produced and narrated by Geoffrey Ciani).
Last updated on 31/08/2024
