Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 LIVE!
Oleksandr Usyk remains the unified heavyweight champion of the world after making it back-to-back wins over Tyson Fury in Riyadh. The Ukrainian proved too slick for his great rival once again at the Kingdom Arena on Saturday night, following up his close split-decision victory from back in May with another points win that was more decisive this time on the scorecards at least, with Usyk getting a unanimous decision as he was awarded it 116-112 by all three judges.
The result left Fury - who felt he had won by at least three rounds - and promoter Frank Warren furious as the ‘Gypsy King’ failed to avenge his first career defeat, leaving him facing questions over his future in boxing and possible retirement as he dropped to 35-2-1. Usyk, meanwhile, remains unbeaten at 23-0 and was immediately challenged in the ring to a rematch with former foe and IBF champion Daniel Dubois for another potential crack at undisputed.
Formidable heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma headlined Saturday’s undercard with a first-round destruction of Demsey McKean, while Johnny Fisher defeated Dave Allen in controversial fashion. Ishmael Davis retired on his stool against Serhii Bohachuk after Lee McGregor beat Isaac Lowe and Peter McGrail defeated Rhys Edwards following early wins for Mohammed Alakel and Andrii Novytskyi. Follow Usyk vs Fury 2 reaction live below!
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Tyson Fury ring walk
No expense spared at the Kingdom Arena tonight with an impressive pre-fight show including what looked like some stone statue holograms.
We are then treated again to the slightly unsettling pre-fight promo video in which Fury and Usyk saw each other everywhere they went.
Right, now the legendary Michael Buffer is on the mic and the ring walks are coming up!
Tyson Fury to walk first as the challenger, dressed in a very festive Santa robe as he sings along to Mariah Carey Christmas classic ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’.
It’s the most relaxed he’s looked all week...
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2
The ring walks are being preceded by a quite incredible drum solo to the tune of Survivor/Rocky classic ‘Eye of the Tiger’.
A big production in Riyadh tonight.
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk on the way
Just the main event to come now in Riyadh!
Don’t go anywhere, folks - Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 is coming up next.
It doesn’t get much bigger than this...
Utter destruction from Moses Itauma - who on earth would want to fight him?
He retains his WBO Intercontinental title and also now has the WBA International and Commonwealth Silver belts.
A superstar in the making.
Moses Itauma stops Demsey McKean in first round
Utterly ruthless from Moses Itauma once again!
He floors McKean once with a vicious overhand left that has the Australian wobbling all over the place.
He gets up and is allowed to continue, but the absolutely relentless Itauma hunts him down and then detonates another shuddering massive left to the temple that crumples him for the second time in the first round.
McKean’s corner have already seen enough and throw the towel.
Itauma is the real deal, make no mistake. Incredible.
Moses Itauma vs Demsey McKean
What a stage this is for Moses Itauma in the co-main event of the night.
The 19-year-old is one of the most impressive prospects in the sport of boxing, still hoping to break Mike Tyson’s long-standing record as the youngest world heavyweight champion in history.
He’s already up to 10-0 with eight knockouts, winning the WBO Inter-Continental title against Ilja Mezencev before another emphatic early stoppage to defend it against the experienced Mariusz Wach in July.
He should also take care of business against towering Australian former MMA fighter Demsey McKean, who has not fought since being stopped late by Filip Hrgovic last summer.
Moses Itauma vs Demsey McKean next
Only one fight left to come now tonight before Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2!
Formidable heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma is up against Australian veteran Demsey McKean next.
Serhii Bohachuk wins WBC interim super-welterweight title
So Ishmael Davis drops to 13-2 but can hold his head high after a second outing in which he stepped in at late notice.
Bohachuk is now 25-2 and becomes the interim WBC champion at super-welterweight.
He is now the mandatory challenger for the full title held by Sebastian Fundora and will likely get the winner of Fundora vs Errol Spence Jr next.
He’ll also likely want another crack at Vergil Ortiz Jr, who takes on his original opponent for tonight - Israil Madrimov - on the blockbuster Beterbiev-Bivol 2 undercard in Riyadh in February.
Ishmael Davis retires against Serhii Bohachuk
Davis has had enough here and he’s retired in the corner before the start of the seventh.
There was certainly a period there where it looked like he was starting to cope much better with the relentlessly heavy-handed approach of Bohachuk, but he’s been worn down and is pulled out.
Seems fair enough to me, Bohachuk is on another level and will have only gone on to inflict more damage and likely get the stoppage.
Serhii Bohachuk vs Ishmael Davis
Television footage shows Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk both having their hands wrapped backstage.
Usyk looks like he’s about to fall asleep!
The tough sledding continues for Davis inside the ring, but he’s coping admirably with the solid power from Bohachuk and comes on strong himself at the end of the sixth.