Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury both entered the ring Saturday night as undefeated superstars as both of them held championship belts and the fight was being advertised as the first unification of the Heavyweight Boxing World Championship since the era of Lennox Lewis nearly 25 years ago.
The bout lived up to expectations in a legendary performance of heart and grit by both fighters as Usyk scored a split decision over Tyson Fury making the 37 year old boxer the first undisputed champion since 2000.
The 8th round Usyk nearly finished the bout as many in attendance could not believe the the ref didn’t stop the fight with Fury taking a barrage of punches against the ropes, however the round ended just in time saving Tyson Fury and allowing the bout to continue into the championship rounds of 10, 11, 12.
No immediate words on a rematch from either fighter, the event was part of the Riyadh Season of events. With the victory Usyk now owns the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and the newly created ‘Undisputed’ belt