Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury twice in 2024 to rule the heavyweight division

In 2024 Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury met twice at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In May, Usyk won a split decision and became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000. In December he won again, this time on all three cards. Between them, the two fights settled who ruled the division and handed Fury the first two defeats of his professional career.

Two Unbeaten Champions and a Long Road to Riyadh

Both men arrived undefeated. Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine was 22-0 with 14 knockouts, and Tyson Fury of Britain was 34-1-1 with 24 knockouts. Between them they held the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight titles. No heavyweight had held every major title at once since Lennox Lewis in 2000, and the four-belt era had never had an undisputed heavyweight king.

The two camps agreed terms in October 2023, and the first target date was 23 December 2023. It moved more than once. After his October 2023 win over Francis Ngannou, Fury asked for more time to recover, and the fight was reset for 17 February 2024 in Riyadh. On 2 February that date also fell through when Fury suffered a cut in training. Saudi official Turki Alalshikh then moved the whole card to 18 May 2024. The total purse was reported at about $150 million, with Fury's share guaranteed at 70 percent. The WBC also commissioned a special belt for the night, which was blessed by Pope Francis.

The First Fight in May 2024

Usyk weighed a career-high 223½ pounds, according to The Ring, but he was still giving away a lot of size to the 6-foot-9 Fury. He took the first round on all three official cards while Fury clowned and showboated. The second and third rounds were close, with Usyk walking forward and Fury landing a right uppercut through the middle in the second.

Fury then took over. From the fourth round he worked the body and mixed in uppercuts. In the sixth a long right hand to the head appeared to hurt Usyk, and The Ring noted a low blow from Fury in the fifth. All three judges gave Fury rounds five, six and seven, and through the middle of the fight he looked like the favourite to win.

The eighth round changed that. Usyk's left hands began to land cleanly, and The Ring reported that one of them may have broken Fury's nose. Fury was bleeding from the nose and around the right eye when he went back to his corner.

The Ninth Round That Decided the Undisputed Title

In the ninth, a left from Usyk buckled Fury's knees. Usyk followed with a long run of unanswered punches, and Fury stumbled across the ring until the ropes in a corner were the only thing holding him up. With seconds left in the round, referee Mark Nelson stepped in and ruled a knockdown, giving Fury a standing count instead of stopping the fight. The bell rang soon after. It was recorded as the eighth knockdown of Fury's professional career, and The Ring later named it its Round of the Year.

The decision was argued over for weeks. Some observers, including former heavyweight champion David Haye, felt Usyk had been denied a stoppage. Usyk's promoter, Alex Krassyuk, said the referee had cut short a knockout. Nelson defended his call, saying the rules allow a count when the ropes stop a fighter from falling. Fury recovered enough to finish the fight on his feet and won the 12th round on all three cards.

Split Decision and the Scorecards

Judge Manuel Oliver Palermo scored the fight 115-112 for Usyk and Mike Fitzgerald had it 114-113 for Usyk. Craig Metcalfe scored it 114-113 for Fury. All three gave rounds eight, nine and ten to Usyk. The 10-8 ninth round turned out to be decisive: as several outlets pointed out, a 10-9 score there would have turned both 114-113 cards into draws and left the fight a split draw.

The Ring's punch figures had Usyk landing 170 of 407 punches and Fury 157 of 496. Unofficial cards from The Guardian, ESPN and The Sporting News all had Usyk winning, by margins from one to five points. Fury disagreed. He said he had won most of the rounds, suggested that the war in Usyk's home country had swayed the judges, and pointed to his rematch clause. "Make no mistake I won that fight and I'll be back," he told reporters, as quoted by Sky Sports. Usyk dedicated the win to his family, his country, its soldiers and his late father. The Ring moved him back to No. 1 in its pound-for-pound rankings.

The IBF Belt and the Road to the Rematch

Turki Alalshikh announced on 29 May 2024 that the rematch would take place in Riyadh on 21 December. The undisputed reign was short. Because the IBF wanted its mandatory challenger in line, Usyk vacated that belt on 25 June 2024. Daniel Dubois was elevated to full IBF champion and fought Anthony Joshua for it in September. That left Usyk with the WBA (Super), WBC and WBO titles, along with the IBO and The Ring belts, for the second fight. The reported purse rose to between $190 million and $191 million. The split was not made public, and Usyk's team denied the speculative figures that circulated.

The December 2024 Rematch

The second fight was held on the night of 21 December 2024, again at the Kingdom Arena. Fury came in at 281 pounds, much heavier than for the first fight, and Usyk weighed 226. Fury dropped the showboating that had marked May. ESPN noted that apart from a theatrical ring walk he did little to play to the crowd.

The early rounds were competitive. Sky Sports reported that Fury landed the hardest punch of the first round, and in the third Usyk complained to the referee about a blow to the back of the head. Fury had his best spell in rounds four and five. Switching to southpaw at times, he landed right hands to the body and right uppercuts, and Sky Sports described Usyk as appearing hurt by body shots in the fifth. All three judges gave Fury those two rounds.

From the sixth Usyk found his range with left crosses, often set up by a jab to the body. His hand and foot speed took him away from Fury's heavier punches. All three judges gave Usyk rounds six, seven, eight, ten and eleven. In the tenth, a left snapped Fury's head to the side. Fury's right eye was badly swollen by the late rounds, although ESPN wrote that he never looked seriously hurt.

Scorecards, Reactions and Legacy

Judges Gerardo Martinez, Patrick Morley and Ignacio Robles all scored the rematch 116-112 for Usyk. CompuBox counted 179 of 423 punches landed for Usyk and 144 of 509 for Fury, and Usyk also led in both jabs and power punches. The result took Usyk to 23-0 with 14 knockouts and Fury to 34-2-1. Unofficial cards from ESPN, The New York Times, CBS Sports and others all favoured Usyk, by margins from two to six points.

Fury had celebrated at the final bell and looked stunned when the cards were read. He left the ring without giving an interview, then said at the news conference that he believed he had won both fights. Usyk was more generous. "Tyson Fury makes me strong," he said, according to ESPN. He celebrated with a ceremonial sword linked to the 17th-century Cossack leader Ivan Mazepa, which had been flown in from a Ukrainian museum. Daniel Dubois then entered the ring and called for a fight with Usyk, telling him he wanted revenge.

On 13 January 2025 Fury announced his retirement, the second of his career. Usyk ended 2024 with two wins over the WBC champion he had faced in May. Over 24 rounds in Riyadh, his speed and timing beat Fury's size and reach twice, which made him the first man to defeat Fury as a professional.

Sources

• Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, Wikipedia, accessed 13 November 2026
• Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury II, Wikipedia, accessed 13 November 2026
• Oleksandr Usyk outpoints Tyson Fury in a classic, wins undisputed heavyweight championship, The Ring (Joseph Santoliquito), 2024
• Usyk beats Fury to win historic undisputed title fight, Sky Sports (John Dennen), 19 May 2024
• Oleksandr Usyk unanimously defeats Tyson Fury in rematch, ESPN (Mike Coppinger), 21 December 2024
• Usyk denies Fury in intense world championship rematch, Sky Sports (John Dennen), 22 December 2024