Designer Study

Round-by-round: Usyk defeats Fury, become undisputed champion

Oleksandr Usyk becomes the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era.

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Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), who entered with the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, captured Tyson Fury's (34-1-1, 24 KOs) WBC and lineal titles to become undisputed. The last time boxing had an undisputed heavyweight champion was in 2000 (Lennox Lewis, three-belt era).

In a fight that turned in the ninth round, when Usyk nearly ended the bout and scored a knockdown, two judges scored the bout 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk, while the third had it 114-113 for Fury.

Both fighters opened the fight with an active jab, but Usyk dictated the pace and had the more significant shots in the first two rounds, catching Fury with a looping left hook late in Round 1 and beginning the second round with a solid two-punch combination.

Usyk continued to press forward in the third round, but Fury began to find a rhythm, throwing more combinations and landing good body shots despite fighting off his back foot. He stayed busy behind his jab and set up a hard right uppercut early in the fourth round, and dug in a hard right hand to the body that made Usyk back up.

A big right uppercut stunned Usyk in Round 6, visibly hurting him and causing him to cover up momentarily. Fury looked to get into a groove, bouncing on his feet and taunting Usyk while pumping sharp jabs.

Fury connected with another hard right uppercut that made Usyk back up in the seventh round, but Usyk kept coming, popping Fury with a straight right hand and finishing the round with a combination.

Usyk showed his heart and struck back in the eighth, scoring with a three-punch combination and forcing Fury to back up into the ropes after a big overhand left. Another big two-punch combination connected for Usyk, and he stunned Fury with a looping right hand in the closing seconds of the round, as swelling began to develop below Fury's right eye.

Usyk seemed to be reinvigorated to open Round 9, which was a pivotal one for the Ukrainian. He returned to pressuring Fury and connected flush with a big left hand with Fury against the ropes. A huge left hand had Fury in trouble, and Usyk sensed that Fury was hurt and went for the finish, connecting with several hard combinations. Fury was visibly hurt staggered against the ropes, and the referee ruled a knockdown as the bell sounded to end the round.

Usyk backed Fury against the corner as Round 10 opened. Fury still appeared to be dazed from the punishment he took in the previous round, but Usyk stayed patient instead of opening up his attack. 

Usyk started aggressively in the 11th round and kept pressing forward. He caught Fury with another hard left hand to the chin, and closed the round with a big right.