MADRID, 19 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk surprised the British Tyson Fury to become the first absolute heavyweight champion, with a split decision of the judges in a historic fight held at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Usyk received a 115-112 and 114-113 in his favor, while Fury, who disagreed with the decision, won only one judge 114-113. The truth is that Usyk went from less to more and, in the ninth round, he was close to knocking out the English giant.
Fury staggered against the ropes after a good, hard series of punches from an Usyk who dominated the rest of the fight from that crucial moment. Although there will be a rematch at the end of the year, the Ukrainian gave ‘The Gypsy King’ his first professional defeat in 16 years and became the first unified champion in 25 years, since Lennox Lewis achieved it in 1999.
The Briton described the judges’ decision as “silly” and also pointed out that the fact that Ukraine is at war favored Usyk, who remains undefeated, in the decision. The Ukrainian now holds the four heavyweight belts, WBA, WBO, IBF and the WBC of Fury, victorious in one of those fights of the century.