Tyson Fury has suffered the first defeat of his professional boxing career after a split points decision went against him in his bout versus Oleksandr Usyk.
The 35-year-old lost his WBC heavyweight title to the Ukrainian as Usyk, 37, became the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in nearly 25 years, following in the footsteps of Lennox Lewis.
Two judges scored the bout 115-112 and 114-113 in Usyk's favour, while another scored 114-113 to Fury.
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Usyk remains undefeated, with a record reading 22 wins from as many fights, 14 of which were by knockout and the remaining eight on decision, including Fury.
For Fury, his record now stands at 34 wins, one draw and a loss by decision, with 24 of his victories by knockout and 10 by decision.
Overall, Usyk controlled the fight and worked the body while backing Fury to the corner on several occasions.
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He also had the 'Gypsy King' badly hurt in the ninth round after landing a stinging left hand.
Fury seemed out on his feet, but referee Mark Nelson failed to halt the contest as it went the full 12 rounds.
An immediate rematch is written in the contract, which is tentatively scheduled for October, though it will not have the IBF title on the line as the organisation is set to strip Usyk of the belt.
But though there is a rematch in the contract, Fury himself cast doubt over what will happen next with no immediate decision made, and comments from his promotor Frank Warren in the post-fight press conference have backed that up.
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He said: "I believe I was the best I could have been. I don't think I could have done any better.
"Maybe if they'd have said to me 'right, you're down in the last two rounds' I probably could have gone out and tried to attack him and tried to get him out of there myself.
"But other than that, I done the best I could. He's a good fighter.
"We've just had a fight, if you can see my face I'm pretty busted up and he's gone to hospital with a broken jaw, and he's busted too.
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"We've punched f**k out of each other for 12 rounds there, so we're going to go home, eat some food, drink a few beers, spend some family time, walk my dog, go to the tip and me and Frank are going to talk about what's going to happen in the future.
"I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I think I'd just do a little bit more of the same, keep my defence a little bit tighter, a bit more focused, and not so much messing around because I was having fun in there. I was playing around, I was hitting him to the body, uppercuts to the head and I thought I was bossing the fight."
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Warren himself added: "No rush for anything, let's see if we're going to have it first."
There is undoubtedly huge appetite for a rematch, but it remains to be seen if and when this will be.
Featured Image Credit: QueensburyTopics: Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Boxing, Heavyweight Boxing
John McDougall