Tyson Fury’s mission to avenge his only professional defeat ended in crushing disappointment on Saturday evening as he lost on a unanimous points decision to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Another classic encounter between the well-matched rivals ended in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with Usyk retaining his world championship belts by finishing 116-112 ahead on all three judges’ scorecards.
The Ukrainian thus continues on as holder of the titles belonging to the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO).
The result was a fair reflection of the Ukrainian’s control of the rematch given he set the pace for most of the 12 rounds.
He was the harder worker, landing more frequently and with greater impact.
Fury described his grim-faced demeanour this week as “beast mode” and while his greater focus was evident on a night when there was no showboating.
Simply, he was unable to make a dent on the extraordinary Usyk.
Usyk’s performance confirmed his status as an all-time great and the 37-year-old will now look to become undisputed champion for the second time.
This will be by toppling International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion, Daniel Dubois.
Fury entered the fight at a fully-clothed 20stones 1lbs, almost four stones heavier than Usyk.
Right from the start he took to the 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.
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 with Fury’s jab causing problems.
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 which saw the Briton suffer the first loss of his career, there was no grandstanding 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 36-year-old Fury was saved by the bell.
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.
As the last two rounds arrived, it was Fury who needed to do something special 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.
Once again the judges were called upon to separate the two and there could be no complaints.
Usyk emerged a conclusive winner on each card to continue his reign as the division’s dominant force.
