Tyson Fury suffered the second defeat of his professional career this month, beaten by Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in their heavyweight championship rematch.
The Brit had vowed to bring ‘hurt and pain’ to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia when looking to reverse his first defeat against Usyk and win three of the four major heavyweight titles, but failed to impose himself enough to convince the judges, losing via unanimous decision with all three scorecards reading 116-112.
Usyk is now cemented as the best heavyweight of a generation having also beaten Anthony Joshua twice and current IBF Champion, Daniel Dubois. His initial victory of Fury saw him become undisputed in the division after achieving the same status at cruiserweight years prior. The only other man to do this is Evander Holyfield.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Holyfield delivered a message to ‘The Gypsy King’ praising his work and assuring him he would be back despite some in the sport suggesting retirement.
“Tyson Fury, great job. Man, I know you’ll get back. Spend some time with your family, man.”
Fury is now expected to entertain talks with Joshua for a long-awaited all-British clash that, despite losing the appeal it had many years ago, will still be a mega fight.
Following his own losses to Usyk, Joshua went on a run of four wins before being knocked out by Dubois in five rounds in a failed attempt to become a three-time heavyweight champion. His team has made it clear that there are just two fights out there that matter for him – a return bout with ‘DDD’ or the Fury grudge match.
