Following his latest win over Tyson Fury this past weekend to retain his heavyweight titles, Oleksandr Usyk appeared at the post fight press conference to talk to the media about his thoughts on the win.
Here’s some of what Usyk had to say about the fight.
Usyk on what he was thinking heading into the last round of the fight
“I don’t think about it, I’m just boxing. I’m just continue my plan, what say Yuri, my coach.”
On whether this second fight was easier than the first
“Fight was easy — not easy but easier.”
On his bond with Fury after two full fights at the highest level of the sport
“Tyson my best friend. Listen, I very respect this guy because I think it’s very tough, my opponent. Tyson Fury make me strong…Tyson is a great opponent, it’s a big man, a tough boxer. It’s a good man. Tyson, a lot of talk, yeah? It’s just show. I very respect Tyson Fury. 24 rounds, listen, now is already history.”
On Fury calling the win a Christmas gift and Frank Warren saying he can’t see how the judges scored the fight for him
“Uncle Frank, I think blind. If Tyson say it’s Christmas gift, okay. Thank you God, not Tyson…Listen, Frank crazy man, you know, I think. That’s my opinion. Ok, no problem. I win.”
Floyd Mayweather made quick work of many of his early opponents – but he knocked out one fighter faster than the rest.
Before Mayweather became a dominant five-weight world champion who outsmarted his opponents with superior boxing IQ and defensive craft, he was a hard-hitting super featherweight prospect.
After being robbed in the semi-finals of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics against Serafim Todorov, ‘Pretty Boy Floyd’ turned over as a professional in October of that year.
He hit the ground running in the paid ranks, stopping five of his first six opponents, including three inside the opening round.
Mayweather blasted out Jerry Cooper in 99 seconds and blitzed Kino Rodriguez in 104 seconds, while Bobby Giepert could only last 90 seconds with the fast-rising phenom.
But ‘TBE’ would get much closer to the minute mark in his seventh outing against Denver journeyman Tony Duran.
Duran entered the fight with an unremarkable 12-15-1 record, but was expected to give Mayweather rounds after going the distance with his uncle Jeff three months prior.
However, Duran proved to be no match for the 20-year-old puncher who flattened him in 72 seconds with a short right hand.
Duran managed to make his way back to his feet after eating the heavy blow, but stumbled into the ropes upon regaining his footing, prompting the referee to wave off the contest.
It was clear from a very early stage in his career that Mayweather would be something special.
When Mayweather was a teenager, the late great Emmanuel Steward was quoted as saying: “There have been very few that have been more talented than this kid.
“He will probably win two or three world championships. I think he will go on to become one of the best ever.”
As per usual, the Hall of Fame trainer was bang on the money.
During an illustrious professional career stretching up until 2017, Mayweather compiled an unblemished 50-0 record and won world titles from super featherweight to super welterweight.
Along the way, he beat 24 former and current world champions including Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, and Shane Mosley.
Boxing historians would tell you that legends like Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali rank higher than Mayweather when it comes to boxing’s all-time greats.
But there is no doubting the fact that Mayweather was the best of his generation.
Former foe Ricky Hatton perhaps said it best.
“After every single fight I’ve had, it was the only fight where I’ve sat in the changing rooms, bit down and thought to myself ‘wow, he was good’,” he told ESPN.
“Just his defence, his movement and just how clever he was.
“He knew when to put his foot on the gas a little bit, when to soak it up a little bit, let me blow myself out, let the storm blow itself out a bit and then put his foot on the gas.
“I would go as far and say a genuis, absolutely great.”
Boxer Claressa Shields, a multi-division champion and undefeated boxer, recently opened up about the impact her success has had on her family relationships.
Ahead of her February 2nd match against Danielle Perkins in Flint, Michigan, Shields appeared on the “Art of Ward”Podcast with Andre Ward. The conversation touched on her fame and wealth, which she has amassed through her successful career in the ring.
Shields explained that while she has provided for her family, her generosity led to expectations that strained her relationships.
“I bought every last one of my siblings a car,” she shared. “My mama a house, my mama two cars, my daddy a car. [I] helped [my dad] with his bills, help mama with her bills, help my sister take care of her three kids.”
Despite her efforts, Shields noted that her sister Briana’s children live with her, and she regularly attends teacher conferences, yet the more she gave, the more resentment seemed to grow.
“It seemed like the more you do, the more that they don’t like you,” she said, fighting back tears. “You work so hard to make all this money and to have a good life for yourself and then the people who you wanna share it with, they just change on you.”
Reflecting on her isolation, she said, “People say it’s lonely at the top but damn, this lonely,” adding, “Family shouldn’t be like that.”
Mike Tyson is reportedly being sued in the U.K. after his loss to Jake Paul.
According to reports from multiple outlets, including Reuters, the former heavyweight champion, is being sued in a London court for $1.59 million for allegedly reneging on a deal to promote online casino and betting company Rabona after announcing his fight with Paul.
According to the report, the lawsuit was filed in October in London’s High Court, which states that Tyson and his company Tyrannic agreed to a promotional deal with Medier—the company that promotes Rabona—in January. The court records say that Tyson terminated the deal in March, which happened on the same day of the announcement of the original July 20 date for Tyson vs. Paul. A health scare for Tyson delayed the fight until Nov. 15, when Paul won via a lackluster unanimous decision.
The termination cause was stated to be due to Medier “breaching” the agreement, an allegation the company’s attorneys deny.
“The true reason for Mr. Tyson and Tyrannic’s hasty and unlawful termination was because Mr. Tyson had agreed to a deal, sponsored by Netflix, to fight the influencer Jake Paul,” per documents released in the Reuters report.
Tyson’s legal team also responded to the terms of the suit, and remain steadfast that their client will be on the correct side of the judgement after all of the facts are examined.
“Medier materially breached the terms of its agreement with Tyrannic multiple times by exceeding the scope of the restricted license that was granted, causing, among other things, financial and reputational damage to the company and Mr. Tyson,” Tyson’s legal team said in a statement via ESPN. “Tyrannic properly terminated the agreement and is confident that the Court will view this dispute in its favor.”
Oleksandr Usyk took a repeat victory over Tyson Fury to defend his WBC, WBO and WBA world heavyweight titles and prove his greatness; Usyk explained why Fury is his toughest opponent and perfect rival, while the Ukrainian’s promoter cautions Daniel Dubois ahead of Joseph Parker fight
Oleksandr Usyk is a great fighter. He proved that over the course of his two bouts with Tyson Fury.
Usyk won both on the scorecards, converting a split decision in their first fight to a unanimous verdict in their second.
Fury was adamant the judges were wrong, but that was a claim Usyk simply dismissed.
“Okay no problem. I win,” the unified WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion said.
“I win, it’s enough.”
But it was against Fury that Usyk was able to demonstrate his capacity for greatness. Fury was the perfect rival for him.
“He’s my best friend,” Usyk joked. But he added with sincerity: “I very much respect this guy because I think he’s very tough, my opponent. Tyson Fury makes me strong.
“Tyson Fury is a great opponent, big and tough. He’s a good man. Tyson does a lot of talk. It’s just [for] show. I respect him very much. Twenty-four rounds, listen now it’s already history.”
Usyk has earned the right to recuperate from another taxing fight, although Daniel Dubois, the holder of the IBF title, was the first to call him out for a four-belt unification.
“My next step. I’m going to rest,” Usyk said. “Not think about boxing, Dubois, Tyson Fury. Just rest. Just play with my children.”
The Ukrainian’s promoter Alex Krassyuk also noted: “Dubois has to fight Joseph Parker and this is a very tough fight for him.
“It’s too early to mention Daniel’s name in regards to Usyk.”
Usyk’s greatness is not only due to his excellence in the boxing ring, amassing all the disparate championship belts, first at cruiserweight, then at heavyweight while beating all of the best fighters in each of those divisions.
He stands for something. After defeating Fury, Usyk he held aloft a sabre, an artefact dispatched from a museum, that a “hetman” or field marshall had wielded in a 17th century war against Russia. Usyk knew he represented the struggle of his people against the current Russian invasion.
Tyson Fury has reportedly made a decision as to whether he will fight again Fury was beaten on points for a second time by Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday
Tyson Fury has revealed his future career plans just one day after suffering defeat in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s showdown the 36-year-old vowed to be all business from the opening bell having previously faced criticism for his antics in his first encounter with Usyk.
Throughout many of the early rounds Fury marched forward, utilising all 281lbs of his gargantuan frame to keep the Ukrainian on the back foot.
Much as it did in the first fight the momentum began to swing in Usyk’s favour in the later rounds as he repeatedly found a home for well-timed counters in combination.
Once again both men survived to hear the final bell and all eyes turned to the judges with the world title on the line.
This time all three judges ruled the same, scoring the fight 116-112 in the defending champion’s favour and condemning Fury to the second defeat of his professional career.
After remonstrating with promoter Frank Warren after the scores were read out, Fury stormed out of the ring without conducting a customary post-fight interview, leading to questions surrounding his future in the sport.
However, according to a report from The Sun, Fury’s fighting days are not over just yet.
A source told the publication that after returning to the UK, Fury told close friends: ‘It’s not over.’
While another shot at redemption against Uysk is not out of the question, an all-British heavyweight clash with Anthony Joshua could soon be on the horizon.
The bitter rivals have engaged in a long-running war of words and could soon settle their differences inside the ring.
Speaking following Saturday’s showdown Warren insisted that Fury vs Joshua is the fight to make if the Gypsy King elects to continue fighting.
He told The Sun: ‘It’s what people will want to watch.
‘The Fury/Joshua fight is a great fight and if it happens it will be a mega fight, it will be brilliant.
But it will only happen if Tyson wants to do it and that’s a big if. And if he doesn’t want to do it, then so be it.’
Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn agreed: ‘The reality is there’s only one fight for Tyson Fury and that’s Anthony Joshua.’
‘It’s the biggest fight probably in the history of British boxing, everyone will always want to see it.
‘For me, AJ against Fury is the one, it’s the one at Wembley, I’m going to be pushing His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] to make the fight.’
Fury and Joshua had been scheduled to clash in 2022, while the former was still the WBC heavyweight champion.
Negotiations had been ongoing for a bout in December of that year before collapsing, with Fury instead defending his title against Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joshua’s last fight came in September when he was stopped in the fifth round by Daniel Dubois for the IBF title.
Terence Crawford has ended 31 of his 41 bouts inside the distance. Gervonta Davis boasts 28 knockouts in 30.
The pair can consider themselves two of the most clinical finishers in the sport when they have opponents hurt, though ‘Tank’ Davis can arguably produce those moments out of nowhere more so than ‘Bud’ Crawford.
At least that is the belief of WBO Welterweight World Champion Brian Norman Jr, who explained the difference in power and named the man who had the edge with one hitter quitters in an interview with Showbizz the Adult.
“When I sparred Terence Crawford I was 20 years old at the time, so it was like he was trying to man me like ‘I’m gonna show you you a little boy’ type stuff. But I’m mature for my age, so that’s why we evened out. Even when you see him fight for real, he don’t necessarily one-shot people, but what he do is he just beat you up and then he kill you. But as far as one shot, who got it? I got to give that to Tank.”
Davis is currently WBA World Champion in the lightweight ranks – the division Crawford started out in – after success at feather and super-feather. He will defend his belt against Lamont Roach Jr on March 1 and recently stunned fans by announcing he will retire at the end of 2025 after another two fights.
Crawford has made his way all the way up to super-welterweight, his latest outing coming in August and being a world title win over previously undefeated Israil Madrimov, though Madrimov managed to last the distance and end a ten-fight stoppage streak for the American.
He now has his sights set even higher, relentlessly pursuing a fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez up at super-middleweight.
Tyson Fury stormed out of the ring after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk before taking aim at the ‘Larry Holmes’ judges who scored the heavyweight title rematch
In a fiery response to his defeat in the heavyweight title rematch, Tyson Fury blasted that Oleksandr Usyk received an early Christmas present. An incensed Fury departed the ring without indulging in the customary post-fight interview after digesting the judges’ scoring of his loss to the Ukrainian champion.
The closely contested bout concluded with Usyk keeping his WBC, WBA and WBO titles, with 116-112 scorecards favoring him across the board. Fury vented his frustration backstage, asserting: “Honestly, I thought I won by three rounds”.
Despite various opinions on whether Fury or Usyk triumphed, including from an AI judge, the official judges harshly scored against Fury’s performance during the latter half. Judge ‘Jerry’ Martinez awarded Fury three of the first five rounds but then assigned the following six straight to Usyk, save for the final round which went to the Gypsy King.
Tyson Fury fumes at Oleksandr Usyk loss in backstage footage after skipping interview
AI judge scorecard for Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk released in boxing first
Patrick Morley started by giving Fury four of the initial five rounds, yet sided with the champion for the next seven. The third judge, Ignacio Robles, only gave Fury one of the last seven rounds, despite initially having him ahead after five.
Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, expressed his outrage over the scoring that he found utterly unbelievable. “It’s impossible,” Warren declared.
“How did Tyson only get four rounds in this fight? Everyone across the front all thought the same way. It’s nuts. Did you only give him four rounds. Nuts. I don’t get it. Really disappointed with that.
“I thought Tyson was in control. Thought he boxed extremely well. One judge didn’t give him any round from round six onwards. How can that be? Same with the other judge here. He gave him one round of the last six. It’s crazy. A nonsense.
“Oscar de le Hoya and I had him [Fury] winning by three or four rounds. What fight were they watching? You lose you lose, that’s fair enough. But come on. It’s nuts.
Oleksandr Usyk is still the king of the heavyweight division. The future Hall of Famer closed the book on his rivalry with Tyson Fury in brilliant fashion on Saturday, once again coming on strong in the middle and late rounds to claim a unanimous decision over Fury and defend his WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight titles in a back-and-forth bout at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
All three ringside judges scored the bout 116-112 for Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs), who also won a closely contested split decision over Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) in May to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of boxing’s four-belt era.
Usyk, 37, now seals the rivalry at 2-0 and likely puts Fury, 36, behind him for good.
Afterward, Usyk’s post-fight interview was interrupted by IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, who called for a chance to rematch Usyk after he defends his belt against Joseph Parker on Feb. 22. Usyk accepted Dubois’ callout, having already defeated Dubois via ninth-round knockout in August 2023.
A disappointed Fury departed the ring without speaking, however Queensberry Promotions’ Frank Warren expressed frustration with the decision and said he believed Fury should’ve won.
In the night’s co-featured bout, 19-year-old Moses Itauma made a thunderous statement as the potential future of boxing’s heavyweight division, knocking out Demsey McKean in less than two minutes.
Itauma (11-0, 9 KOs) celebrates his 20th birthday on Dec. 28 and remains on track to potentially break Mike Tyson’s record as boxing’s youngest heavyweight champion ever, though he’d have to do so in 2025.
McKean (22-2, 14 KOs) has now lost two fights in a row after starting his pro career a perfect 22-0.
Relive all the action with full Usyk vs. Fury 2 results, highlights and Uncrowned’s full card live blog below.
Following a second successive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia with world titles on the line, Tyson Fury was naturally asked about his future in the sport.
Having retired a handful of times already, fans could be forgiven for taking his career announcements with a pinch of salt.
Those announcements came from a position of great power – one of boxing’s top draws and an undefeated heavyweight champion.
Now, a Ukrainian he often belittled as a blown-up middleweight – whom he also chastised Anthony Joshua for losing to twice – has, you guessed it… beaten him twice.
The two-time heavyweight champion stormed out of the ring once his promoter Frank Warren showed him the scorecards for the fight which read 116-112 across the board from the human judges and 118-112 from the first-time ever AI judge.
Backstage, Fury insisted to the following pack of media that he had won that fight by at least three rounds.
Without saying he was cheated in Saudi Arabia, the Brit would heavily imply it.
In the press conference, he was flatly asked what’s next for him after coming up short in undisputed and then unified title fights, signalling the first losses of his entire professional career.
‘You might see me fight again, you might not,’ he cryptically answered.
But most of the boxing world suspects we do indeed see him fight again and finally, against Anthony Joshua.
The domestic dust-up has been mooted for the best part of a decade, ever since Fury first became champion when he dethroned Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015.
Just over four months later, Joshua became a champion in his own right by demolishing Charles Martin inside two rounds at the O2 Arena, and the all-British clash looked like the obvious fight to make.
Yet fans have still never seen Fury and Joshua settle their differences inside the ring. That could soon change.
Both men would be entering the bout off the back of defeats after Joshua was dominated by Daniel Dubois in September, but there remains interest in how it would all unfold.
We could find out in 2025, with Wembley Stadium beckoning for what remains arguably the biggest commercial fight in world boxing.
Alternatively, Fury could finally walk away once and for all. The two-time heavyweight king has climbed to the top of the mountain, beating the likes of Klitschko and Deontay Wilder along the way.
Now, he has a big decision to make over whether to fight on or hang up his gloves for good.
