OLEKSANDR SYK Wins Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship AFTER 12 round fight with Tyson Fury

Written by: Sean Crose

The atmosphere was very electric in Riyadh. 21-0 WBA, WBO, and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk entered the ring looking like a Ukrainian hero from the Napoleonic era. Tyson Fury, who went 34-0-1 in the WBC heavyweight division, came out without a costume. Still, he was dancing, smiling and talking to the audience as he sang with Barry White on the sound system. Once again, the atmosphere was electric, because when the bell rang, Fury and Usyk would fight for the world's undisputed heavyweight championship. The fight, if it could go the distance, was scheduled for twelve championship rounds. Fury gave Usyk the googly eye when the referee was instructed.

The fighters try to balance each other and continue to control the range at first. Fury started doing funny things early on. Every man could stay clean sometimes. Fury was quickly moved after the bell rang for the second time. Usyk then became very happy in Fury's place. However, Fury began to settle in before the round went down. The third was a high-octane affair that saw both fighters have their moments with successful strikes. It was a difficult chapter to choose a winner. Fury, however, was giving an excellent performance.

A hard uppercut from Fury about two minutes into the fourth clearly affected Usyk. Fury continued to do some impressive body work in the round, too. Fury beat Usyk at will in the fifth. A hard right in the sixth tied Usyk. Fury then went to work beating his man. Usyk still came out on top, but midway through the fight, the fight belonged to Fury. Usyk continued to go after Fury in the seventh, and it didn't go well…until the final minutes, when he was able to blast Fury hard.

Then, suddenly, Usyk came to life in the eighth, tagging Fury multiple times throughout the chapter and leaving a mark on Fury's face. Usyk let the world know just how good he was in the ninth when he hurt Fury, then viciously chased down the English giant before putting him down. Fury, the hero that he was, couldn't strike the bell. It must be said that anger recovers better than any fighter in the world, because – while he was still traumatized, he had the tenth best.

Fury continued to perform well in the eleventh, however he didn't look as sharp as he did, which is not surprising given the situation he found himself in. That being said, Usyk hit the ground running at the end of the chapter. The twelfth and final round was very close, though Usyk may have pulled it off. It all came down to the judges…who ended up calling Usyk a split decision.

“Thank you very much, my God, Jesus,” said Usyk after the fight. Then he turned to Fury and hugged his enemy. Fury also thanked God. “I believe I won that battle,” said Fury, afterward, “but I'm not here to cry and make excuses.” However, Fury indicated that he felt Usyk got the win because Usyk, who is from Ukraine, was fighting Russia. That said, both strikers have made it clear that they are ready to exercise the re-examination clause in their contracts. “I'm ready for the replay,” Usyk said.