(by Valerio Vulpis) – A spectacular and compelling boxing match, especially in the heavyweight category, as has not been seen for a long time (in the “noble art” panorama). This is what happened last night at Riadin Saudi Arabiawhere the Ukrainian champion Oleksandr Usyk he won, by split decision, on Tyson Fury, popular English boxer, after the latter had gone to the ropes (and subsequently suffered a count by the referee) during the 9th round. After this new success, the Ukrainian boxer (a native of Crimea, which has been in the news for some years due to being among the theaters of war in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict) is still undefeated: he has in fact achieved 22 successes (including the one achieved yesterday in Saudi soil) of which 12 by knockout. Already as an amateur, the 37-year-old from Simferopol had achieved a record that was difficult to beat: 335 victories and just 15 defeats. In 2012 at the London Olympics he defeated boxer Clemente Russo from Caserta in the final.
The bout with Tyson Fury was initially scheduled for December 23, 2023, but was postponed twice: one following the match between the Englishman and former MMA champion (UFC) Ngannou, the other due to an eye injury . From the end of 2023 we therefore moved on to February 17th and, finally, to May 18th. Usyk managed to unify all the heavyweight belts, holding the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles, as well as “The Ring” in the same weight category.
