How that ninth round unfolded
How SunSport’s Chisanga Malata saw that dramatic ninth round when Tyson Fury was DROPPED:
Oleksandr Usyk is slowly but surely allowing the gap to be closed, which leads to him eating a big left hand flush in the corner.
Fury gets hurt and is stumbling around the ring. It was a left hand that did the damage.
Fury doesn’t know where he is and is eating a barrage of crisp follow-up shots. He beats the count and the bell thankfully saves him.
Score: USYK 10-8
Eddie Hearn weighs in
Matchroom Boxing chief and Anthony Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn has given his thoughts on Tyson Fury’s stunning survival of the ninth round against Oleksandr Usyk.
He told DAZN: “How he survived the ninth [round]?
“I thought he was very lucky that the referee didn’t jump in.
He showed unbelievable heart to stay on his feet and unbelievable composure coming out for the tenth and eleventh rounds.
“He was losing those rounds, but he was recovering.”
Usyk to be stripped of title
Oleksandr Usyk faces only being able to call himself undisputed champion for a matter of weeks.
Usyk prevailed in what was been dubbed “the fight of the century” after beating Fury via split-decision in Saudi Arabia.
Fury lost his WBC title, while Usyk added to his WBA, IBF and WBO belts.
And despite all the attention and build up to the first undisputed heavyweight bout in over 25 years, his status will only last a fraction of that time.
Boxing journalist Dan Rafael has reported that the winner of tonight’s bout will maintain the undisputed title for “less than two weeks”.
It’s said that both Fury and Usyk’s contracts dictate that they must vacate the IBF title ahead of overdue mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic’s bout with Daniel Dubois.
Lennox Lewis breaks silence
Lennox Lewis – the last man to hold all the heavyweight titles – took to Twitter to congratulate Oleksandr Usyk for following in his footsteps and becoming the undisputed ruler of the division.
He tweeted: “Welcome to the club! z@Usykaa.
“Tonight we witnessed a crackin’ fight and history made.
“I was happy to welcome either one of these incredible champions to the Undisputed HW club and tonight it was Oleksandr The Great.
“Looking forward to seeing them do it again. @usykaa has proved that it never too late to add to your legacy. Congrats!
“Fury will learn from this and he’ll be back! Losing is also part of the game, it’s how u respond to a loss that makes all the difference.”
Fury quizzed about post-fight comments
Tyson Fury was quizzed about his suggestion that the judges gave Oleksandr Usyk the victory because his native Ukraine is at war.
He said: “It was what it was. It’s not up to the fighters.
“One of the judges had me winning, two of them didn’t. It was what it was.”
Hospital trip
Oleksandr Usyk has suffered a broken jaw and has been transported to the hospital.
So he will not be taking part in a post-fight press conference this morning.
