HE entered the ring dressed as Bad Santa, but Tyson Fury has taken a beating this season from the best heavyweight on the planet.
Oleksandr Usyk completed his British heavyweight derby with a second defeat over Gypsy King, just as he did with Anthony Joshua.
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Tyson Fury renewed his rivalry with Oleksandr Usyk in a second successive Saudi showdownCredit: Reuters
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Gypsy King suffered a split decision defeat in their first meeting in May Credit: Getty
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Fury, 36, was keen to get revenge on the suave southpaw in their second rumble in RiyadhCredit: AP
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But he suffered a second consecutive painful defeat against the slick southpawCredit: Reuters
Throw in a knockout of the current IBF champion Daniel Dubois and Usyk confirmed himself as undoubtedly the greatest heavyweight of his generation.
Usyk made light of his four-stone weight disadvantage as his superior footwork, hand speed and ring control earned him a unanimous points victory to confirm the split decision he earned here in their first meeting with Fury in May.
In the wee hours of the Arabian night, 36-year-old Fury’s hopes of usurping Usyk’s WBA, WBC and WBO belts were barely realized.
Fury’s beard caused controversy before the fight, but he lacked razor-sharpness inside and outside the ring as Usyk’s unblemished record remained intact.
READ MORE ABOUT FURY VS USYK 2
He performed his circle walk in a red Santa-style robe with a white trim, but after this schooling, his festive season will lack comfort and joy.
Amidst the countless minarets and vast glittering malls of the Saudi capital, the Kingdom Arena is a featureless box.
But Fury, in particular, was a place of destiny. Would he retire from here as a three-time heavyweight champion of the world or as a man with no clear fighting future?
Fury shook up the boxing world and won world titles on two previous occasions – dethroning Wladimir Klitschko after almost a decade on the heavyweight throne, then breaking the unbeaten record of the explosive Deontay Wilder.
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Tyson Fury thought he had done enough to reclaim the unified heavyweight titlesCredit: REUTERS
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But the judges awarded Usyk the victory via scorecards 116-112. Credits: PA
Fury vs Usyk 2 rounds by round: How SunSport scored a controversial heavyweight thriller
OLEKSANDR USYK took another controversial decision against Tyson Fury to reclaim his heavyweight throne.
Seven months after their split decision thriller, this time the score was a unanimous 116-112, all in favor of Usyk.
Gypsy King stormed out of the ring as his promoter Frank Warren was stunned by the cards.
Here’s how SunSport’s Wally Downes scored in the fight…
1st round
The rules were ignored and Fury arrived at 11:15pm local time with a beard that would have left Brian Blessed’s bits bare.
If we thought his facial hair looked over the top, we were stunned to see the size of his stomach when the cameras caught him topless in his dressing room.
His red shorts were so high that not even his gut was visible, a centimeter more and the twentieth beast would have been able to push his nipples there as well.
Fury tried to intimidate Usyk with a final bout, widening his eyes like a monster, but the champion remained ice cold.
They exchanged blows and defended with lead hands. Usyk drove left hands into his wobbly stomach, then kicked him in the head to grab the opening punch. Usyk.
2nd round
Usyk lands a one-two to the head as soon as the session starts, but then goes back to the body and lands a left, and one even makes Fury stumble.
But Gypsy King lands a treble-jab and then a meaty right hand to take the round.
There is still no sign of the body shots and uppercuts that won him in the middle rounds of the fight in May. Anger
3rd round
Usyk scores three times with a kick to the body and a left hand up.
Fury struggles with the pressure. Fury does a little check hook and even tries a southpaw.
But all his threats to skin and cook a rat or an ugly rabbit turned out to be empty. Usyk.
4th round
Fury gets off to a great start with a slashing right.
Bit Usyk nearly knocked his mustache off with two good left hands.
But Fury fires back with a big right hand that forces Usyk back.
Then that uppercut comes back and breaks through Usyk’s guard. Draw.
5th round
Fury instantly takes control when the right hand is the perfect start to the session
Then the Brit is warned for rabbit punches as he tries to bully the champion.
Usyk then went in for a lead left uppercut and then started throwing body shots. Usyk escaped and has to recover. Anger.
6th round
Fury in trouble. The challenger’s bloated body begins to sweat and Usyk continues to target him with his powerful left.
He then goes bounty hunting and slices Fury’s skull.
The Morecambe giant is agitated and worried, his head swinging back. Hides the rest of the round. Usyk
7th round
The quiet round really only features a sharp Fury one-two and a single Usyk. Draw.
8th round
One-two hooks work for Usyk as he pushes all the pace and pressure and Fury tries to hide his 20th target.
The accidental clash of heads fortunately leaves no cuts.
Fury does launch a limp attack, but Usyk smiles back and shakes his shaved head. Usyk.
9th round
Fury is getting tired, he has so much wood to haul around, and the woodcutter Usyk likes to cut him down.
It’s too big for dancing, rubbing and countering.
He plays a super-fit Usyk game. Usyk.
10th round
Fury lands a rare uppercut and attacks Usyk’s body. He takes the center of the ring but then eats a few punches.
Fury tries to hold back and rely on Usyk’s engine. But he gets punished with a left to the cheek.
Big left from Uysk lands and blows Fury’s sweat off his head.
But Fury counters with an uppercut. But Usyk’s pressure and punches are winning. Usyk.
11th round
These could be decisive rounds. Usyk is busier, Fury throws an uppercut, but it just skims his guard.
Fury goes for a tippy-tappy combination, but then two serious punches. The wind is coming out of his giant red sails.
Usyk is relentless and jumps, pokes and punches, and Fury is 20th and faltering. Usyk
12th round
Fury starts out as a man who knows he needs at least isolation, but that helps Usyk counter him.
The combination of three consecutive shots scored the Ukrainian icon.
But Fury is still swinging and slashing and lifting his shorts sliding down his back and love handles from all the sweat Usyk has squeezed out of him.
With a section of the ungrateful crowd booing and whistling, they pushed it into a ten-second finish. Usyk
SunSport results: Usyk 118-112 Fury.
This, however, was his toughest test without a doubt.
Usyk was flawless as a pro, unifying the cruiserweight and heavyweight crowns.
Watch Tyson Fury’s amazing Mariah Carey-themed entrance for his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk
Usyk was flawless as a pro, unifying the cruiserweight and heavyweight crowns.
Both a cunning boxer and a fierce fighter, motivated not only by his status, but also by being the sports standard bearer of his occupied homeland.
And despite a split decision by the judges in May, there was no doubt that the Ukrainian should have been a clear, unanimous winner.
It was a classic encounter, between two undefeated fighters at the top of their games, when all the major heavyweight belts were up for grabs for the first time this century.
Since that first fight, boxing is boxing, Usyk was stripped of the IBF title, which is now held by Dubois.
But even the young Brit’s job at Wembley over Joshua couldn’t detract from the fact that Usyk and Fury are two of the most outstanding heavyweights of their era.
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Fury arrived with his controversial beard intact, despite protests from Usyk’s camp.
It was a beard you could lose a badger in. Perhaps the bushiest beard seen on a major British sporting figure since WG Grace scored for England in the Victorian era.
The undercard lacked quality, excitement or sensible refereeing and it was 1.30am local time before the main protagonists entered the arena.
There were plenty of empty seats inside the 26,000 capacity venue and nothing like the fervor of a real big fight night at Wembley or Las Vegas.
But those days are largely gone with the Saudis controlling elite boxing and preparing to host the World Championships and Olympics in the 2030s.
After the live drummer made his way through Eye of the Tiger, ringleader Michael Buffer declared the party started.
And Fury, dressed in a Santa outfit, strode forward to the tunes of All I Want For Christmas Is You.
Fury joked at that previous meeting seven months ago, let his guard down and stuck out his tongue.
Fury vs. Usyk 2 – main stories
READ MORE about the absolute blockbuster night in Riyadh…
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Tyson Fury printed a dejected figure after the result was read on the right. Credits: PA
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Fury wanted to look at the scoreboard shortly after hearing the score Credit: TNT SPORTS
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Fury was comforted by his wife Paris as he left backstage Credit: TNT SPORTS
During the build-up he was in dead serious form, but still a piece of pantomime from a man who was always able to switch effortlessly from vaudeville to violence and back again.
Usyk, in traditional Ukrainian combat garb, was in no mood for such frivolity.
Before the first bell, Fury was pounding away again, bleary-eyed and blowing kisses.
The first was slick and even, but the second was Fury’s as he found his range with a jab and then rocked the champion with a big right late on.
With precious few Brits traveling to the dry country over the Christmas week, what crowd noise favored Usyk.
The Ukrainian was more fluent in the third, he went to work like a woodcutter trying to cut down a big oak tree.
The fourth was lively – Usyk inflicted pain with a body combination, but Fury later pinned him.
Usyk’s footwork was superior, but when Fury flew in, it was telling. In the fifth, the Brit landed a vicious uppercut and then pushed the champion back with several body shots.
Usyk is stubborn though and won the sixth with a couple of jabs to the left, Fury looking flustered and wild.
It was impossible to pay, Usyk’s speed giving him a slight advantage in the near silence of the mostly ungrateful crowd.
The sterile atmosphere suited the cool-headed Ukrainian better and he rocked Fury with a powerful left late in the ninth after the Brit appeared to land a low blow.
Fury’s extra weight and the cumulative effect of Usyk’s body shots were taking their toll and the Gypsy King was alarmingly tired by the tenth round.
In the penultimate round, a left hook hit Fury in the skull and while the Brit landed a few desperate shots, Usyk looked the far more confident fighter.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education