When Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury in May, he was crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion. Now, he is the unified champ despite not fighting since - but there's an explanation.
Usyk, 37, and Fury, 36, will go toe-to-toe for the second time at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday evening.
Back in May, the Ukrainian edged a majority decision points victory.
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The standout moment of the fight was when Usyk almost finished Fury with a barrage of punches in round nine.
This caused referee Mark Nelson to issue the ‘Gypsy King’ a standing count.
The 6ft 9in heavyweight recovered, but the former undisputed cruiserweight champ controlled the latter rounds.
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Fury will have to change his tactics for the second fight, while Usyk will be hoping for much of the same. But something that is different is the belts that are on offer.
Last spring, all the ‘recognised’ world title belts were on the line, with Usyk winning the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF titles – making him the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis over two decades earlier.
However, on Saturday night, just three of the belts mentioned will be up for grabs.
This time around, the WBC, WBO and WBA titles – held by Usyk – will be handed to the winner of the heavyweight contest.
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However, the IBF title no longer belongs to the Ukrainian. Just five weeks after becoming the undisputed champion, Usyk vacated the IBF belt, which allowed Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua to compete for the strap in their Wembley showdown in September, with Dubois winning by knockout.
"Anthony [Joshua] and Daniel [Dubois], I know the IBF title is important to you," Usyk said in a video message posted on social media.
"It is my present to you on 21 September."
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According to the IBF’s rules, they had to strip Usyk of the belt if he did not fight their mandatory challenge – which happened to be Dubois.
Of course, Usyk had already beaten the Brit by knockout in August 2023.
A similar thing happened to Fury after he defeated Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015. Just over a week after he won the IBF, WBA and IBO belts, he was stripped of the IBF strap.
How to watch Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk
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To watch Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk go head to head, there are three options:
1.) You can watch the rematch on DAZN with no subscription required. All you need to do is buy the PPV for £24.99 and you will automatically get a seven-day free trial which you can later cancel to stop the subscription from rolling over. You’ll be able to stream the match on a range of devices including PlayStation, Chromecast, and Smart TV. If you do decide to roll over your free trial, you’ll move onto a monthly plan costing £24.99 per month and get access to over 150 fights every year, with the option to cancel with 30 days’ notice.
2.) You can also tune in live on Sky Sports Box Office (Sky channel 491). The event is priced at £24.95 for Sky customers in the UK and $27.95 if you’re based in the Republic of Ireland. Sadly Sky does not offer free trials, but Sky subscribers can book the match here and if you’re new to Sky, you can sign up here.
3.) Finally, you can watch the fight on TNT Sports with a Prime Video subscription (free for the first month then £8.99/ month), provided you have discovery+ (from £3.99/ month) as part of your subscription. If you don't fancy shelling out, you can simply cancel your subscription after the first month.
Topics: Boxing, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk
Luke Alfred Davies