Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion
Al Jazeera
Ukraine’s Usyk beat UK’s Fury by a split decision to become the first unifying title fighter since 1999.
Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury by scoring a razor-thin split decision to win the world’s first undisputed heavyweight championship in 25 years, an unprecedented feat in boxing’s four-belt era.
The United Kingdom’s Fury was the early aggressor but Usyk gradually took charge and the “Gypsy King” was saved by the bell in the ninth round before slumping to his first career defeat on Sunday.
Ukraine’s Usyk joins the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Mike Tyson as the undisputed heavyweight champion, the first since boxing recognised four major belts in the 2000s.
With the win, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion can legitimately claim to be the best of this era, although a rematch expected in October could provide another twist.
The UK’s Lennox Lewis was the last man to unify the heavyweight belts – three at the time – after beating Evander Holyfield in 1999.
