Oleksandr Usyk thanks his English fans for their support
Oleksandr Usyk praises English fans for their support in his triumph over yet another British boxer
Unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14KO) thanked his English fans for their support after his second victory over Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24KO) on December 21 in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk has defeated British boxers six times in a row, with wins over Derek Chisora Anthony Joshua twice, Daniel Dubois and Fury twice.
The 37-year-old Ukrainian sent the message via video post: "To my English fans, thank you so much for your support. For me, it's very important, I am [grateful]."
In their highly anticipated rematch, Usyk was able to take control of the entire second half of the contest to win 116-112 unanimously read more...
Some spectators called the result a robbery after the fight appeared to be much closer than the scorecards suggested, some believed Tyson should've been awarded a draw at the very least, and others agree with the result.
Reactions to Usyk vs Fury 2
Wayne Alexander: "After watching the fight again and scoring it round by round - as I thought Fury could have nicked it when watching it live - but I must say, first of all, if anyone really knows about boxing they will have seen that it was a very close fight with most rounds being a fairly close 10-9 round, some could have been even.
"I scored it 115-113, that’s seven rounds to five to Usyk, who looked the more dominant and composed throughout the 12 rounds, I can’t see how Tyson was hard done by as some people are saying. Both fights were close and I believe that with both their styles they will always have a close hard fought contest."
Tim Rickson: "I initially couldn't split them when watching it live, believing it to be a draw. I was shocked at how wide it was scored at first, and still think 116-112 is quite wide, but fully accept the scoring after watching it back. I thought both fights were so close, but Usyk just nicked them both, in my view. No one won comfortably and no one was robbed either. 24 rounds of two elite heavyweights giving their all."
Carl Frampton: "We are often shy to call fighters all-time greats while they're still fighting. What Usyk has done inside 23 fights is better than any boxer that's ever lived. He could already be the GOAT."
Johnny Nelson: "In hindsight, the scorecards were closer to being correct than we were [scoring it live]. The fight was close, but I thought the scorecards were alright given a round or so. Throughout the fight, it was pretty even, both guys were trying to find a way but Tyson found himself reacting instead of being the activator, and all the way through, he was reactive. Tyson went into the fight with intent, and I said I love this Tyson Fury, his head is on it, no bull****, he’s on it to get the job done.
"He went in with the intent but not with execution. Once he got a shot off, he didn’t execute and overthought it by thinking ‘I’ll wait a bit’ and spent so much time waiting for the shots to go. Tyson must’ve thrown six instinctive shots throughout the fight and the rest, he had to think about it. The instinctive shots were the most successful because, with instinct, you can’t read and even in the first fight, instinct caught Usyk with the uppercut. But this fight, was a mix of a few things.
"Oleksandr Usyk was the ultimate professional throughout. He deserved the win. How would you feel if you were Usyk and you boxed Tyson Fury the first time and then you see him falling over outside the pub on his face on the floor, p***** up on the street? I’m not saying that is wrong or right but if I was an athlete and I knew I lived the life and I knew my opponent was doing that in between fights, my confidence is like ‘you don’t deserve to be here, you shouldn’t even walk in my shoes’. The mind games build up a long time before you go into the ring.
"Usyk was the initiator, and Tyson was the reactor, so if you are reacting and you miss, your initiator has got two or three shots ahead of you every time. Usyk was prepared to work a lot more and mix it, whereas Tyson at times, was falling back on his heels. His legs have gone, they aren’t what they were, and he was falling back on his heels. Out of the two, when they were getting hit Tyson looked more vulnerable than Usyk, without a doubt.
"I see the headlines of Anthony Joshua. I know Frank [Warren] and himself said they won the fight but they know they didn’t win the fight. They’re talking about the AJ fight and that’s a big fight and you would love to see that fight. Like AJ, Tyson’s head is going to be up his a*** and will be feeling heartbroken and gutted. If you truly believe you are the best amongst everybody else and you are world class but then get a reality check, it takes you a long time to get over it. Tyson is a very wealthy man and the drug of boxing; we all need it. But when that confidence is shattered, what is the motivation? It’s very hard to live and breathe in the cash.
"The weekend won’t make any difference to them instantly, it will just make a difference for their generations coming through. Now, it’s getting that motivation to say, ‘I can do this’. Maybe Tyson and AJ can lift themselves for that one fight together but mark my words, this time next year they will both be retired. They will be out of the game."
