Pick It: Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury II
When to Watch: Saturday, December 21. The undercard begins at 10:30am Eastern Time (3:30pm GMT).
How to watch: DAZN pay-per-view
Why to Watch: The two best heavyweights in the world meet again.
In May Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury shared a ring, and Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) left with all four world titles and therefore the undisputed championship.
Usyk won’t be undisputed champion for this rematch — he vacated the IBF belt, since won by Daniel Dubois — but this second fight with Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) will still have three titles on the line as well as recognition as the lineal champ.Will Usyk remain on the throne? Or will Fury regain it?
Their first meeting ended with a split decision for Usyk. The scores were 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk and 114-113 for Fury. One point made the difference between Usyk winning the title and Fury retaining with a draw.
That one point came in the pivotal ninth round – a 10-8 round for Usyk. He hurt Fury badly, pummeled him around the ring, and was credited with a knockdown near the end of the round when the referee ruled that the ropes had held Fury upright.
Fury had his own moments as well, particularly in the first half of the fight, and especially with his uppercuts and body shots.
Both will likely arrive at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with strategic adjustments in mind based on what they experienced in May, what they’ve seen in the footage since, and what they believe will happen on Saturday.
Both has won every rematch they’ve had. Barring a draw, that will change with the result of Usyk-Fury II.
Fury, a 36-year-old from Morecambe, England, triumphed in rematches with John McDermott in 2010, Derek Chisora in 2014 and 2022, and most famously with Deontay Wilder in 2020 and 2021. The first Wilder fight was a draw. This rematch with Usyk will be Fury’s first time trying to avenge a loss.
As for Usyk, the 37-year-old Ukrainian’s sole rematch was a split decision over Anthony Joshua following a unanimous decision victory in their first installment. Usyk’s most notable amateur accomplishment was also a rematch – he outpointed Clemente Russo for Olympic gold in the 2012 heavyweight tournament. Russo defeated Usyk in the quarter-finals of the 2008 Games.
As for what comes next? Perhaps there could be a third fight. Otherwise, there are a number of alternatives, which I delved into in-depth in my most recent Fighting Words.
Here’s some of what’s on the undercard:
Junior-middleweight contender Serhii Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) will take on late replacement Ishmael Davis (13-1, 6 KOs), who steps in for Israil Madrimov. Davis was last seen losing narrowly while giving Josh Kelly a tough fight in September.
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