Oleksandr Usyk is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after earning a split decision points win against Tyson Fury.
Usyk survived a difficult middle portion of the fight to come on strong in a vital ninth round which saw Fury take a barely standing count before the bell arrived just in time to spare him.
It took all of his customary heart to stay on his feet but Fury appeared badly hurt and Usyk was not about to let up, dominating the remainder of the fight to win on the scorecards.
Having edged the early exchanges, Usyk looked to have been pegged back as Fury upped his tempo in the fifth then briefly rocked his man in the sixth, but Usyk found the answers as he has done throughout his career.
Come the ninth round the Ukranian was back on top and Fury had no answer when the barrage came, relying on the ropes and then the corner to keep him from hitting the canvas.
Fury could only engage in damage limitation through rounds 10 and 11 and come the 12th, one of Fury's more forceful blows was too late to turn the tide as Usyk unleashed right after left and took all the belts.
In the end it was a surprise to some that the decision was split, but the hand of the right man was raised.
“I don’t want to think about boxing now,” said Usyk afterwards, having arrived for the post-fight press conference with his daughter Yelizaveta’s Eeyore cuddly toy.
“My camp started in September 2023 and I worked for nine months. I missed Happy New Year, I missed my son’s birthday, I missed my other son’s birthday, I missed my daughter’s birthday and then the birth of my daughter.
“I also missed family holidays. I was only focused on this fight. Now I’m happy and I want to go back home.”
The 37-year-old made a brief hospital visit for a scan on an injury his promoter Alex Krassyuk declined to specify amid suggestions he had broken his jaw, but he later returned to the Kingdom Arena to give a press conference.
At the end he broke down in tears in memory of his father, who died shortly after he won gold at London 2012 – before they had the chance to celebrate together. Usyk has previously said that his father visits him in his dreams.
“I miss my father. I said to him ‘you live there and I live here, please don’t come for me, I love you’,” Usyk said.
“For me it’s hard when my father comes back to me because I remember all life. I know he is here.”
'I believe I won that fight'
Fury meanwhile drew criticism for blaming his defeat on a perceived bias among two of the judges.
“I believe I won that fight. I think he won a few of those rounds but I won the majority of them,” Fury said.
“His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war. Make no mistake, I won that fight in my opinion.
“I’ve had a split decision loss with a little man. Good luck and God bless you.
“I want to thank God. We fought a good fight for the fans. I always say it’s about getting paid and getting laid and we did that.
“I want to thank Oleksandr for the good fight. It was a close fight. I thought I’d done enough, but I’m not a judge. I can’t judge a fight while I’m boxing in it.”
