Tyson Fury remained adamant that he won his clash against Oleksandr Usyk ‘by three rounds’ despite suffering a unanimous defeat on Saturday night.
In a thrilling contest where neither man refused to give an inch, it was Usyk who finished the stronger, just as he did seven months ago, to pick up a repeat victory.
Usyk became undisputed champion by just a single point in May as he earned a split decision win, but this time it was more clear-cut as all three judges scored the bout 116-112 in his favour.
Fury promptly left the ring after the result was announced having clearly been disappointed that his efforts got very little recognition from the judges.
The 36-year-old was later caught backstage by reporters and, when asked for his thoughts on the scorecards, the Gypsy King offered a surprise response.
Speaking to Sky Sports Boxing after the fight, he said: ‘I swear to God, I thought I won by three rounds!’
Tyson Fury suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh on Saturday
After the bout, the Gypsy King was visibly stunned by the judges’ decisions on the night
Despite leaving the ring quickly, Fury was later caught by reporters backstage and claimed that he felt he’d won the bout ‘by three rounds’
Later, ESPN reported that Fury also said: ‘I thought I won the fight again, I was Larry Holmesed again. I was on the front foot the entire time. When you don’t get the knockout this is what can happen.’
Usyk appeared bemused when asked if he deserved to get his hand raised before he was confronted by heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois who called for a rematch after losing to the Ukrainian great last year.
The punch stats revealed Fury had thrown more punches in the contest, with 509 to Usyk’s 423. But Usyk landed 179 across the 12 rounds compared to 144 by Fury.
Overall Usyk landed 42 per cent of his punches, with Fury way down on 28 per cent.
In the press conference, Fury was flatly asked what’s next for him after coming up short in undisputed and then unified title fights, signalling the first losses of his entire professional career.
‘You might see me fight again, you might not,’ he cryptically answered.
But most of the boxing world suspects we do indeed see him fight again and, finally, against Anthony Joshua.
The domestic dust-up has been mooted for the best part of a decade, ever since Fury first became champion when he dethroned Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015.
In his post-fight press conference, the British heavyweight had a fresh bruise on his right eye
Fury battled hard but ultimately came up short against his Ukrainian counterpart on the night
After the final bell in Riyadh, Usyk dropped to his knees and looked to the sky
Fury refused to see wife Paris – pictured on the night – for three months in the build-up
Having spent three months away from his wife Paris and their children, Fury had promised to be more aggressive than the first fight and avoid any showboating, and he took the centre of the ring straight away. But Usyk refused to be bullied as he pushed the bigger man back in a cagey opening round.
The Brit began to bring his jab into play in the second, and a sharp right hand briefly bothered Usyk as the action started to heat up.
Fury switched to southpaw as he started to grow in confidence, before the fight came to life in the fourth as Usyk landed two hard left hands, only for the Gyspy King to respond with a powerful right of his own.
If the previous four rounds had been hard to score, the fifth wasn’t. Fury landed at will to the body and connected with a swift uppercut on the inside as he started to take control.
But Usyk is a champion for a reason. The Ukrainian emerged for the sixth with renewed vigour and caught Fury with strong left hands that wobbled the giant.
There was some much-needed respite in the seventh as both men took their foot off the gas to mount their charge for the second half of the fight.
After pausing for breath, the pace quickened in the eighth, and Usyk called on Fury after being caught with a couple of shots. It was now a battle of the minds as well as physical strength.
The ninth was a round of two halves, with Fury using his jab and body shots to good effect early on, before Usyk rallied to catch the bigger man with a left hand-right hook combination. It was still all up for grabs.
Ukrainian heavyweight Usyk was formidable throughout the bout and deserved his title victory
As the championship rounds began, the fight was still being fought at a frantic pace and it was nip and tuck.
Yet the 11th was anything but. Usyk came out with a spring in his step and caught Fury with multiple hard shots. Fury took them and wiped at his face. No blood above the eye, but a cut had long formed below it. Reason for concern in the Fury corner.
Leave it all in the ring they say, and Fury and Usyk were determined to do exactly that in the final round. But once again, it was Usyk who seemed to edge the exchanges.
As the final bell rang, Usyk dropped to his knees and the devout Christian looked to heavens clearly believing he had done enough to claim another win.
He was proved right as he retained his unbeaten record, his titles and the status of being the best heavyweight on the planet.
