Oleksandr Usyk added to his chapter in boxing’s history books when he defeated Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Fury lost his WBC belt to Usyk’s collection despite having found good success in the middle rounds, ultimately negated by Usyk’s incredible knockdown in round nine that would earn him a split decision win on the cards.
With the contracted rematch clause now activated and booked for December, the mood in Team Fury is positive. Tommy, the heavyweight’s half-brother, told IFL TV that ‘The Gypsy King’ was coping well in defeat.
“Tyson’s alright, all good, all good. Listen, at the end of the day it was a close fight, I did think Tyson did enough to win it. I thought the first half of the fight was a shutout and they picked up a couple of rounds after that, so I thought he won the fight.
But at the end of the day it’s boxing, decisions happen and he’ll be back for the rematch. 100% he’ll win the rematch. There’s not a doubt in my mind that when the rematch happens he’ll right that wrong and get the victory back and move on to the next.”
It’s unclear as of writing if the second bout will be for all four heavyweight titles again. The IBF had been clear in the run-up to the fight that the winner would be forced to vacate its belt for not being able to fight a mandatory challenger.
The belt may instead be on the line for an Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois fight in December, although Team Usyk are understood to be campaigning against this.
