Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion

Oleksandr Usyk has become the undisputed world heavyweight champion, defeating Britain’s Tyson Fury after one of the great title fights in modern boxing.

Usyk won the close fight by split decision, with the judges scoring the bout 115-112 and 114-113 to Usyk, and the third scoring 114-113 for Fury.

The Ukrainian has now become the first undisputed heavyweight champion this century.

It was a back-and-forth fight between the two greats of their generation, with the ninth round proving decisive as Usyk achieved the only knockdown of the fight. 

Arguably, referee Mark Nelson could have stopped the fight, such was the damage Fury had taken. 

The Ukrainian nailed multiple left hooks which had Fury wobbling and on the verge of falling to the canvas. 

He collapsed into the corner, with the referee declaring a corner knockdown.

Usyk, with tears in his eyes, thanked his team and his country, Ukraine, which is at war with Russia.

Fury, who controlled multiple rounds, said he thought he should have been declared the winner. 

“Make no mistake, I won that fight in my opinion and I’ll be back,” he said.

“I’ve got a rematch clause … we [will] run it back in October.”

Usyk started the fight methodically, controlling the space in the ring despite giving up an enormous reach deficit to Fury.

Shots to the body were the hallmark of Usyk’s opening rounds, as Fury tried to laugh off every shot that landed.

As Fury remained trapped on the backfoot Usyk continued to score, with the southpaw’s left hook landing often.

Fury was able to gain some momentum in the third round when he started landing shots to the body.

The right uppercut, particularly to the midsection, was scoring for Fury and momentarily stopping Usyk’s advancements forward.

The Brit took a moment to showboat in each of the opening four rounds, seemingly excessive even for a man who is often clouded in entertainment and showmanship.

Round six was when Fury took control of the fight, with a pair of strong right uppercuts rocking the Ukrainian.

Both uppercuts had Usyk reeling on the backfoot.

Fury refused to get greedy, including into the following seventh round as he continued to land hard rights to the body.

The Brit kept his distance from the Ukrainian, happy to land his strong shots and then reset, letting Usyk come to him.

Usyk needed a massive response in the eighth round and he delivered, scoring with a number of countershots and a left hook to the head that made Fury wince.

Now in his groove, Usyk and Fury traded blows.

Then the Ukrainian nailed a left counter hook which hurt Fury, rocking him back to the ropes.

On wobbly legs, Fury tried to survive but finally was declared to have gone down by the referee, with only the ropes keeping him up.

Fury made the count and got to the end of the round, but Usyk had badly hurt the Gypsy King and was in charge of the fight.

Fury recovered and essentially the fight became a three-round war, as the judges’ scorecards could have easily had either man in front.

There was a rematch clause in the contract, regardless of the result.

Jai Opetaia survives bloody fight to win vacant IBF cruiserweight title

Australian fighter Jai Opetaia has won the vacant IBF cruiserweight title following a bloody 12-round bout with Mairis Briedis.

Opetaia reclaimed the title, which was stripped from him last year, with a unanimous decision 117-111, 116-112, 116-112.

The Australian was dominant for the first half of the fight, before Briedis made a stirring comeback to rock the Australian multiple times. 

Opetaia was stripped of the belt last year after taking a big payday fight in Saudi Arabia.

The former champ was dominant in the opening six rounds, before his 39-year-old Latvian opponent wound back the clock to produce a tremendous fight back.

“We knew we were in for a tough fight. I said it [through] the whole lead-up,” Opetaia said.

“We were ready for 12 rounds of war, and that’s what we got.”

The Australian said the turning point that led to Briedis’s fight back was a head clash, which he claimed broke his nose.

After that, he said the Latvian nailed him with a few shots which hurt.

“Mairis Briedis, I’m honoured to share the ring with a champion like that,” Opetaia said.

“I idolised this guy … to be here and share the ring with him, he’s a true warrior.”

The victory moves Opetaia’s record to 25-0 (19KO) and is the second time he has defeated Briedis.

The fight was the co-main event before Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship.