Fights don’t come much bigger than Saturday’s showdown between WBC champion Tyson Fury and IBF, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk. The winner of the fight will be first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era and the first man from boxing’s glamor division to achieve undisputed status in any form since Lennox Lewis was stripped of the WBA championship in 2000.
Boxing fans have been looking forward to Fury and Usyk sharing the ring for some time. Negotiations between the two repeatedly failed before plans for a December 2023 clash were dashed when Fury was nearly defeated by Francis Ngannou in October. The fight was then rescheduled for February 17, only for Fury to suffer a cut while training two weeks before the fight.
The fighters are now set to move forward when they meet on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with plenty of intrigue surrounding how the fight will play out.
Fury is undefeated in 35 career fights, with the only blemish on his record being a draw in 2018 in his first meeting with Deontay Wilder. He won his first world title with a decision victory in 2015 over Wladimir Klitschko to win the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Fury then gained significant weight and suffered several injuries before failed drug tests sidelined him for more than two years, costing him his world titles.
The first fight with Wilder came two fights after Fury’s return to boxing and many observers felt the “Gypsy King” had clearly done enough to win the fight, even recovering from a late knockdown that would have put an end to almost any other fighter on the planet. Three fights later, Fury and Wilder were in the ring again, with Fury dominating the fight before a Round 7 stoppage to win the WBC title. An 11th round knockout of Wilder followed as Fury cemented his place atop the division.
Fury then easily handled Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora before disaster almost struck former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou. Fury looked out of shape for the fight and struggled to deal with a fighter making his boxing debut, even having to get up from the canvas after a clean shot in the third round before taking a narrow split decision.
“I’ll keep it short and simple. I want to thank God for the victory that I’ve already achieved. And I want to thank everyone involved for putting on this massive event,” Fury said during the final press conference. “I want to thank Usyk for coming and challenging me. And that’s it. Thanks to all the fans who came to support me because I know times are tough right now and money is difficult. So my goal is to put in a show.”
Usyk brings his own career to the ring with an unblemished 21-0 record.
After becoming WBO cruiserweight champion in 2016 and making two successful title defenses, Usyk entered the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament. The tournament featured eight fighters, including the four world champions.
In the tournament, Usyk defeated Marco Huck by TKO, defeated Mairis Briedis by majority decision to add the WBC title to his collection and took a unanimous decision over Murat Gassiev in the final to win the WBA and IBF titles and become undisputed champion of the cruiserweight.
After a victory against Tony Bellew, Usyk announced his intention to move up to the heavyweight division.
Usyk continued his successful career since moving up, stopping Chazz Witherspoon and taking a decision over Chisora before getting a chance to become unified champion against Anthony Joshua.
Usyk put on a masterful boxing display against Joshua in September 2021, reeling the unified multi-time champion multiple times during the fight en route to a clear decision victory. The two men would meet again the following year, with Usyk winning a more competitive fight via split decision.
Last year, Usyk again defended his unified status by stopping Daniel Dubois in the ninth round.
Let’s take a closer look at the rest of the fight card with the latest odds before we move on to the predictions and expert picks on the main event.
Fury vs. Usyk fight card, odds
- Tyson Fury (c) -120 vs. Oleksandr Usyk (c) +100, undisputed heavyweight championship
- Jai Opetaia -600 vs. Mairis Briedis +450, vacant IBF cruiserweight championship
- Frank Sánchez -225 against. Agit Kabayel +188, heavyweight
- Joe Cordina (c) -500 vs. Anthony Cacace +400, IBF super featherweight championship
- Robin Sirwan Safar -150 against. Sergey Kovalev +125, cruiserweight
Read our full undercard preview here.
Displaying information
- Date: May 18
- Location: Kingdom Arena – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Start time: 12 p.m. ET
- How to watch: DAZN PPV, ESPN PPV, PPV.com | Price: $69.99
Predictions
Brent Brookhouse: This is a very difficult fight to choose. Usyk is a masterful boxer and his speed and technique could give Fury fits. This would be especially true if Fury showed up out of shape again. However, all indications are that Fury is in the best shape he has been in years.
Fury has good power, impressive defense and footwork for a man his size, but it’s that size that may be the most important factor in the fight. Fury is a master at leaning on his opponents and draining them of their energy. This plan backfired on Ngannou, in part because as a career mixed martial artist, Ngannou is an expert at clinch work. Ngannou is also much bigger than Usyk and it’s possible that Fury will be able to pop up from distance and rely on Usyk whenever the smaller man gets inside.
As much as I want to create a surprise because Usyk has every chance of winning the fight, Fury is a difficult puzzle to solve and the size advantage only tilts things a little too much in Fury’s favor on the period. Expect a close fight with both men having solid moments before a close decision on the scorecards. Choose: Tyson Fury via SD
Brian Campbell: There’s no way this won’t become a 12-round chess match of the most epic proportions as the two most talented big men of this century finally face off. Fury’s size will certainly be a factor as his advantages in height (six inches) and reach (seven inches) cannot be overlooked. But neither is the absolute magic of what Usyk brings to the table. In the super-heavyweight era, he is still the shortest man. But so far, especially in his two title wins over Anthony Joshua, he hasn’t caught the Ukrainian southpaw.
Fury is used to being the most skilled and dynamic boxer in the ring, every time. This time it will be different. If Fury is unable to truly establish himself as the bigger man and slow Usyk down with a combination of body shots and mauling in the clinch, it probably comes down to who can win seven rounds first. Usyk was never physically dominated or controlled by Joshua. And as long as he can win the footwork battle and give Fury enough to think about with the timing of his counter-left crosses, it’s yet another surprise that Usyk can pull off. He is too clever and too daring. Choose: Usyk via SD12
Brandon Wise: For a fight that’s been talked about for years, it’s hard for me to shake the feeling of what happened when Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao stepped into the ring in 2015. Every time one of these very hyped materializes, there is It is the fear that the fighters will not go for it or will be too tense to really let their attack work. This is an incredible clash on paper between two of the most skilled heavyweights of the era and there isn’t much separation between them. But if he’s forced to decide who I believe has his hand raised at the end of the night, it’s hard to see how Fury, the giant who fights on the level of his competitors every time he steps on the ring, can’t find a solution. way — or enjoy the judges’ advantages by being the tallest man.
Who wins Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, and which victory method accessory is a must-have? Visit SportsLine now to see Peter Kahn’s best bets for Saturday, all from the boxing pundit who netted his subscribers a profit of more than $4,000, and find out.