By Olaitan Ibrahim
Oleksandr Usyk won his heavyweight championship rematch against Tyson Fury by unanimous decision on Saturday to stay unbeaten across two divisions and cement his place among the greats.
The Ukrainian, who forced the pace and repeatedly tagged Fury with his accurate left hook, was awarded the fight 116-112 by all three judges.
Usyk’s win takes him to 23-0 with 14 knockouts and extends one of the all-time best careers that includes Olympic gold and undisputed champion at cruiserweight.
Only the WBA, WBO and WBC belts were on the line this time after Usyk, focused on the lucrative rematch, relinquished his IBF title rather than face challenger Daniel Dubois.
By beating Fury in May, “The Cat” had already joined the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Mike Tyson as undisputed heavyweight, and the first of the four-belt era.
Defeat opens up an uncertain future for the 36-year-old Fury, now 34-2-1, who announced his retirement in 2022 only to change his mind and return to the ring.