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Oleksandr Usyk is the king of the modern heavyweights and has left in his slipstream the ruins of every giant boxer he has faced in the ring.
On Saturday night in Riyadh, Usyk fought to a standstill once again in a gruelling clash with Tyson Fury. It was their rematch and it was personal and brilliant.
At the end of 12 rounds, Usyk won an oddly wide unanimous decision to retain his championship belts and his crown as the king of the heavyweights. The three identical scores of 116-112, which meant Usyk won eight and Fury just four of the completed rounds, was harsh on Fury, but the right man had his hands raised.
Usyk had to once again find a way to overcome disadvantages in height, reach and weight to win; Fury was about five inches taller and 55lb heavier. Usyk has mastered the art of beating big men by using his feet, his timing and, ultimately, his desire to win.
At the end, as Usyk fell to his knees in prayer and Fury dipped down to kiss his great opponent’s head, both men had the scars and bruises from the fight. Usyk’s face was swollen, reddened, but his icy-cold stare remained in place. It is not easy being the king in the land of the giants, but Usyk has found a way.
Fury never put a foot wrong, but was just beaten to the punch on too many occasions and once again found out that Usyk had an answer for all of his usual tricks.
Fury was never quite able to use the extra poundage to push Usyk about, never quite able to set up Usyk for a sickening uppercut, which was the punch that hurt Usyk in their first fight back in May. And Fury was smarter, never hurt or in danger of being stopped like he was in their first fight. It was, in truth, masterful from both.
Fury left the ring convinced that he had won by a few rounds and his promoter, Frank Warren, was furious with the one-sided scores. “It’s unbelievable,” he said at ringside. “How can you only give Tyson four rounds? That is ridiculous.” However, there were no screams of “robbery” and that was a relief because the word is being thrown about every week each time a fight goes 12 rounds. It was a tight fight at all times, and Usyk knew enough to win the close rounds.
As expected, Usyk finished stronger, winning many of the rounds in the second half of the fight; one judge, much to Warren’s dismay, gave Usyk every one of the last six rounds. Fury did slow down, but he was never in danger of collapse from the 19lb of extra flesh he had gained since their first fight. He looked big, not slow.
Usyk, who will be 38 next month, once again proved that skill is still king in the boxing business. Fury tried a lot of different tactics, used a quality jab and dropped in booming right crosses, but each time, Usyk would adjust, move his feet, move his head and counter or attack from a different position. It is lazy to call it physical chess, but it was calculated and gripping.
They will each have to make big decisions next year and a third fight must not be ruled out. Another option for both is Daniel Dubois, the IBF champion, who made an appearance at the end to ask Usyk for a rematch; Usyk dropped and stopped Dubois last year. Usyk lost the IBF title outside of the ring, but retained his WBC, WBO and WBA belts against Fury.
The harsh truth is that Fury and Usyk both showed signs in the fight that their careers are coming to an inevitable end and that their last days are not too far away under the distant neon beam of history. They have each given so much in a lifetime devoted to the boxing ring and all its beauty, riches and cruelty.
Now, they each have to select the right exit strategy from a sport that has never cared about reputations or former glories. We must never let them become shells, names for hire in the bloody game and watch them finish as washed-up heroes; there are too many like that in the gathered and invited crowd at all the fights in Riyadh.
Usyk can certainly continue to defy boxing’s unwritten laws and slay more giants for a bit longer; Fury has harder decisions to make in a fight against time. The truth is that neither has to fight again to prove a thing; the problem is that all fighters, especially at this level, still feel they have something to prove.
