By: Sean Crose
The first fight was certainly memorable. Now Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are going to square off again. The first battle between the two men went down earlier this month in Saudi Arabia. It was a see-saw affair, but Usyk knocked down Fury in the ninth and continued to fight well once Fury returned to his feet. After the final bell had rung that evening in Saudi Arabia, the judges’ awarded Usyk a decision win as well as the title of undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. Fury had the chance to redeem himself in the ring, however, as both he had Usyk had signed an option to fight a rematch before the first fight had even gone down.
Sure enough, both men are willing to do it all over again – once more in Saudi Arabia. “The rematch between the Undisputed Champion Oleksandr Usyk and the Champion Tyson Fury is now scheduled on the 21 of December 2024 during Riyadh Season,” Saudi Arabian sports honcho Turki Alalshikh posted on social media Wednesday. “The world will watch another historical fight again…Our commitment to boxing fans continues…We hope you enjoy it… ” If the second fight is as intriguing as the first fight was, chances are, people will.
For the supersized Fury, the key in the rematch will be his being able to keep Usyk from hurting him. After all, if Usyk hadn’t hurt Fury in the first battle, the ending may have ended up being much different. Usyk, on the other hand, has to be prepared for a Fury who has altered his game plan. Fury, for those who don’t know, is able to both box and brawl. He largely boxed the first time. Team Usyk may prepare for a more aggressive Fury in the rematch this December. Sure enough, questions of how this second fight will play out are part of what makes it so intriguing.
One potential issue, however, is the fact that – unlike the first fight – the rematch won’t be for the undisputed heavyweight crown. There’s no guarantee that all four of boxing’s top organizations – the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO – will all agree to Usyk engaging in a rematch with Fury. Will that really matter, though? Usyk has proven he’s the man at heavyweight by beating Fury. And, should Fury win the rematch, there’s no doubt he will have proven it’s he who is the top dog in the division.
This may be one of those rare instances where the titles at stake don’t matter all that much.