Oleksandry Usyk secured his place in the boxing history books by beating Tyson Fury for a second time in Saudi Arabia.
The Ukranian took another decision on the scorecards after a typically strong finish to a fight which lacked the ebb and flow of the first edition, but was nevertheless engrossing.
Both men celebrated at the end of 12 closely-fought rounds but it was Usyk who got the verdict to take his record to 23 fights, 23 wins, the last two coming against Fury.
While some commentators felt the fight was tighter, all three judges scored the fight 116-112 in favour of Usyk, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
"I win, it's good. Thank you God," was Usyk's response to being asked whether he agreed with the judges' scorecards.
"My wife helped me, my children. Listen, today for me it's a very happy day. Today my sons win competitions too in judo.
"My sons talked to me, 'hey pappa, you next!' I said OK, I'll try."
Daniel Dubois then appeared in the ring to ask for 'revenge for the robbery last time' in front of a slightly puzzled Usyk, who asked for Turki Al-Sheikh to 'make me fight with Daniel Dubois'.
Returning to the Fury fight, Usyk said: "He's a great fighter, a great opponent. It's a great 24 rounds, unbelievable for my career. Thank you so much."
Promoter Frank Warren said: "Yeah, if they want to do it, but I've got to tell you something. How can Tyson only get four rounds in this fight? It's impossible.
Asked if he felt Fury had won the fight, Warren added: "Yeah. It's nuts. Could you only give him four rounds? I don't get it, I'm really disappointed, but it is what it is and we'll have to see what happens.
"I thought he was in control of the fight, he boxed extremely well."
Oleksandr Usyk 2-0 Tyson Fury 💥
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) December 21, 2024
The winning moment for Usyk 😤#UsykFury2 x #RiyadhSeason | Live on Sky Sports Box Office pic.twitter.com/4NykS6xFpF
Full fight recap
Fury entered the fight at a fully-clothed 20stones 1lbs, almost four stones heavier than Usyk, and right from the start he took centre of the ring, showing more intent to carry the fight to his opponent.
Towering over the champion, the Briton spat out his jab but he was also taking shots to the body and by the second round he was being stalked around the ring by Usyk – a theme of the first fight.
The pace was being set by Usyk but both fighters were landing in a lively start to the clash.
Usyk connected with two big left hands in a fourth round that ebbed and flowed and as the fight approached the halfway stage it was desperately close.
Fury staggered the Ukrainian with a short left uppercut and having taken a flurry of blows to his body, he hit back with intent. Unlike their first meeting, there was no showboating from the challenger.
The fifth was the Gypsy King’s best round yet as he imposed his size and power, all while working behind his pinpoint jab, but he was caught several times in the sixth.
Fury’s output began to drop and he was being driven backwards with Usyk’s left hand giving him plenty of problems.
It was relentless pressure from Usyk, who put together a lovely sequence of shots in the eighth and finished the three minutes by backing Fury up against the ropes.
The ninth round was the turning point in May when Fury was saved by the bell and while that night’s dramatics were missing in the rematch, Usyk was showing similar purpose as he continued to build momentum.
The ninth round was the turning point in May when Fury was saved by the bell and while those dramatics were missing this time, Usyk was showing similar purpose as he continued to build momentum.
He swarmed over the bigger man in the 10th but also took shots himself and as the last two rounds arrived it was perhaps Fury who needed to do something to catch the judges’ eyes.
A storming final round saw the rivals exchange blows with each having their moments in a high quality finish full of courage and skill.
The fight went to the scorecards with all three judges scoring the fight 116-112 in Usyk’s favour.
