Tyson Fury has scored plenty of dramatic knockouts — and he may have authored another one, if only he knew he needed it.
That’s according to Fury himself, who fell short on the scorecards against Oleksandr Usyk in their dramatic heavyweight championship unification bout Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, dropping a split decision to take the first loss of his career. With the loss, Fury relinquished his WBC title to Usyk, who is now boxing’s undisputed heavyweight champion, with the big four belts now in his trophy case.
Usyk nearly finished Fury in the ninth round, the climax of a thrilling 12-round affair that could have gone either way on the scorecards. Though the fight was closely contested, Fury’s team was confident their boxer was up heading into the final round. Had Fury known he was behind, he vows he would’ve chased a knockout.
“I always say it’s about getting paid and getting laid,” Fury said at the evening’s post-fight press conference. “We did that tonight. I thank Oleksandr for the good fight. It was a close fight, you know? I believe I thought I did enough, but I’m not a judge. I can’t judge a fight while I’m boxing it. If they would have said to me in the last round or whatever, ‘You’re down, go out and try and finish him,’ I would have done that. But everyone in the corner believed we were up. All I had to do was just keep boxing, do what I was doing, and I thought we were getting it. But it was what it was. I’m not going to cry about spilled milk.
“I’ve had plenty of victories and I gave God the glory. I’ve had this one loss in a close, close fight with a good man like Usyk, and it was what it was. I tried my best in there. I was having a lot of fun actually. I don’t know if it looked like it, but I was playing around, hands behind my back, and I was enjoying it. He’s a good fighter, Oleksandr, I was catching him and he was catching me, and it was a good fight, so I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did getting punched in the face.”
In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Fury suggested that the judges may have leaned towards Usyk due to the Ukrainian having to deal with the emotional toll of the ongoing war in his home country. He made sure to give credit to Usyk for his performance and later elaborated on what rounds he felt he could have won.
“Say I won five of the first six, and then the next six I won a few as well,” Fury said. “It was close, I don’t know. I tried my best and it was what it was, coming up short. One of the judges had me winning and the other two didn’t, so I can’t complain about it.”
Due to a rematch clause in the bout agreement, it’s expected that the next fight for Fury and Usyk will be an immediate sequel. Both boxers were amenable to running it back when asked about the clause.
Fury posed a possible October date, but doesn’t sound like he’s in a rush to make it official anytime soon.
“We’ve just had the fight,” Fury said. “If you can see my face, I’m pretty busted up and he’s gone to the hospital with a broken jaw and he’s busted too. We punched the f*ck out of each other for 12 rounds there, so we’re going to go home, eat some food, drink a few beers, spend some family time, walk my dog, and me and Frank [Warren will talk] about what’s going to happen in the future.”
It’s unclear the extent to which Usyk may be injured, but Queensbury Promotions boss Frank Warren also mentioned that Usyk was reportedly taken to the hospital to get a CT scan on his jaw, only for Usyk to then appear at the event’s post-fight press conference.
Now that Fury has tasted defeat for the first time, the 35-year-old Englishman finds himself in unfamiliar territory. He plans to take some time to rest and recover, but expects to continue fighting as long as his future dance partners are as entertaining as Usyk.
“I ain’t boxing here because I’ve got no money,” Fury said. “I’m boxing because I love it. Do you understand? I’m 36 in a few months and I’ve been boxing since I’ve been a child. Where does it all end? Do you have a hundred fights and brain damage and a wheelchair? I’m not sure. The one thing is, all the time I’m still loving the game and I was having fun in there. I was really enjoying myself, then I continue to do it. When I can’t do that anymore, I’ll pack it up.”
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