Rematch confirmed! Can Tyson Fury recapture his world heavyweight title?

Rematch confirmed! Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will face each other for the second time after their hotly contested fight on 18 May 2024. The second fight will take place on 21 December, per Saudi official Turki Alalshikh on X.

"The world will watch another historical fight again. Our commitment to boxing fans continues. We hope you enjoy it," Alalshikh added. Let's take a look back at how the first fight unfolded.

The Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk was a true boxing spectacle, where two of the world's best heavyweight fighters went eye for eye over 12 rounds in Riyadh. A controversial split decision crowned the Ukrainian fighter as the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the century, however, fans and journalists are criticizing the outcome, claiming the 'Gypsy King' was robbed!

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After putting on a dominant performance during the early stages of the fight, Tyson Fury was enraged after the judges declared Usyk the winner of the fight. The 'Gypsy King' made a swift exit from the ring, claiming Usyk was given the win due to "his country being at war," said the British fighter during a post-fight interview. Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight world champion in 24 years.

Although Fury dominated the first stages of the fight, the Ukrainian fighter held his ground against the 206 cm (6'9ft) and 112 kg (266lbs) fighter. Usyk being smaller in size and reach (191 cm/ 6'3 ft and 100kg/ 220lbs), timed his counter-attacks brilliantly.

Usyk regained momentum as Fury tired himself out in the later stages of the fight. In a crucial moment of the fight, Usyk rocked his opponent in the ninth round, and Fury faced a count.

"Usyk was robbed of a knocking win in the ninth round when referee Mark Nelson stepped in to count Fury before he had fallen to the ground," according to the Ukrainian's manager.

Furthermore, according to Alexander Krassyuk (boxing promoter) the split decision win over the 'Gypsy King' was fair, but argued that "Usyk would have finished his opponent if it had not been for the referee stepping in to call a knockdown with Fury still upright."

The referee Mark Nelson arguably saved Fury in the 9th round. The British fighter was visibly stunned and was not defending himself at all, so the referee had two choices. Stop the fight or allow Usyk to carry on for the knockout. The standing count most certainly bought Tyson Fury time to regroup.

There were stages of the fight where Fury was dominating the ring, releasing some serious powerful punches at the Ukrainian. According to the Independent, Oleksandr Usyk had to go to the hospital after suffering a suspected 'broken jaw' during the fight.

"We've just had a fight, as you can see with my face, I'm pretty busted up and he's gone to hospital with a broken jaw and he's busted too. We punched the f***** out of each other for 12 rounds. So we are going to go home, eat some food, drink a few beers, spend some family time, walk my dog...," shared Fury after the fight.

After the fight, Fury confirmed he would activate his rematch clause to fight Usyk for a second time. According to the Independent, both fighters possessed the option to fight again should they suffer a defeat.

The judges scored 115-112, 113-114, 114-113 in favour of Usyk. "I won that fight in my opinion. I think he won a few of those rounds but I won the majority of them," said Fury after the fight, in clear disappointment.

Tyson Fury burned out his energy in the first couple of rounds and didn't really flick the switch until the fourth round. Usyk remained calm and composed, and took punches left and right, awaiting his moment. He picked the right moment to unleash his power on the 'Gypsy King' and managed to knock down a bigger opponent for what is a historic win for the Ukrainian. Will Fury get his revenge?

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