On the night from Saturday to Sunday, from December 21 to 22, Ukrainian world champion in the super heavyweight category (WBA/WBO/WBC/IBO versions) Oleksandr Usyk will have to hold a rematch with Briton Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury in the ring of one of the arenas in the city of Riyadh (the capital of Saudi Arabia).
11 0
Photo – megogo.net
As reported by NBN, unlike the first May fight, in which Usyk managed to defeat Fury by split decision, this time, the final justification of the absolute world champion title will be at stake (Alexander is the first “absolute” in the “heavyweight” category since 1999, almost equaling Lennox Lewis).
In the first fight, Usyk took the WBO belt from the “Gypsy King”, which was missing to gain the “absolute” status, and, if he wins the rematch, Fury will not be able to achieve a similar title, since our boxer vacated the IBF title for the September fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
It should be noted that at the upcoming boxing show in Riyadh, fights between three Ukrainians are planned:
- in the key “undercard” fight, first middleweight boxer Serhiy Bogachuk will clash with Briton Ishmael Davis (he came in as a replacement ex-WBA world champion, Uzbek Israil Madrimov);
- Daniel Lapin will meet Frenchman Dylan Colin in a fight for the IBF Intercontinental and WBA Continental belts in the light heavyweight category;
- WBC International super heavyweight champion Andrey Novitsky will try to defeat Mexican Edgar Ramirez.
Predictions from experts and fellow boxers regarding the outcome of the fight between the Briton and the Ukrainian:
- British expert Fabio Wardley, who has been to Usyk's coaching camps several times and sparred with the Ukrainian, believes that a repeat of the first fight should be expected in Saturday's fight. If our champion enters the ring with the same mood as always, narrowly focused on the target, and does not miss the Briton's hard blows, then “everything will happen approximately the same way as in the first fight”;
- American heavyweight Richard Torres, who points to Alexander as one of the fighters to look up to, considers the Ukrainian the favorite in the rematch, although he has been a Fury fan since childhood, “I think Usyk will win, but we shouldn’t forget about Fury’s punching power, which can decide the outcome of the fight”;
- British ex-world champion Tony Bellew also considers Usyk a huge talent, but still, taking into account the dimensions of the “Gypsy King” (weight – 120 kilograms and height – more than 2 meters), he is betting on Tyson's skills and characteristics, predicting that Alexander will not get away with what he got away with last time;
- Ukrainian champion Fedor Cherkashin is confident that Fury, judging by everything, will use the tactics of aggressive and dirty boxing in the second fight, tested on fighters with better technique and speed, the Briton can more intensively go into clinches, hit with elbows and tilt his head, trying to disorient Usyk, but Alexander will surprise with a more active attack on the body to weaken Tyson's maneuverability.
Let's recall the statistics of the previous fight, which became a serious test of the boxers' skills: Usyk spent 407 punches, and Fury – 496, but the Ukrainian won by the number of accurate hits, “delivering” 170 attacks to the Briton, while the “Gypsy King” had no more than 157.
Also, on December 20, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman presented the belt intended for the winner of the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. The “leopard” award features photos of the Ukrainian and the Briton, and a circular inscription emphasizing the dedication of the “fight of the century” to the 50th anniversary of the legendary fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman:
Photo — ukrinform.ua
However, in addition to the belt, the boxers can also hope for a more significant, financial reward – according to The Sportster, the total fee for the Usyk vs. Fury will make $190 million: Alexander will get $114 million, and Tyson – $76 million.
The epic battle within the framework of the decisive “evening of boxing” in Riyadh between Usyk and Fury, starts at 00:00 am on December 22 (Kiev time), and will be broadcast on the page of the streaming media service MEGOGO, for which you need to subscribe to “Optimal”, “Sport”, “Maximum” and “MEGOPACK XL”: the video will be posted in “Martial Arts” (section “Sport”) or the “Television” column.
Earlier we wrote that the second fight between Usyk and Fury would be judged by an AI referee.