Oleksandr Usyk outlanded Tyson Fury in nine of the twelve rounds on punch percentage, according to the punch stats from CompuBox.
In seven of those rounds, Usyk scored more power punches than Fury, with two equals, and his opponent again only won three. It was a comprehensive victory.
Despite judge Craig Metcalfe carding the fight for Fury 114-113 and many claiming the fight was close, in reality, Usyk was the dominant force in all but the mid-rounds. The Ukrainian’s accuracy and his relentless come-forward pressure were the keys to defeating a champion forty pounds heavier. Nobody in the history of Fury’s career has been able to do what Usyk did that night.
The current Pound for Pound king and lineal heavyweight ruler reigns supreme in his generation. Usyk will forever be known as the greatest heavyweight since Lennox Lewis and a bridge to the golden era.
Fury enjoyed three successful rounds in the fight, where he clearly hurt Usyk and was on top, but other than that, it’s hard to make a case for “The Gypsy King” at all. The fact some of his corners were telling him he was on top is another questionable occurrence. Before he returns, Fury must make changes somewhere in his entourage.
Despite reports to the contrary, the fight swung both ways from a bright start by Usyk in the early rounds. Fury did land some savage right hands to the body at times, but Usyk was just the busier fighter.
From round four is where Fury enjoyed his best work. Usyk winced more than once as Fury whipped in a body shot, before catching him with a hellacious uppercut from a weird angle. That uppercut would land four times during the contest, but Usyk shook it off and outworked Fury in those later rounds.
After losing three sessions on the spin, Usyk had to win the seventh to stop the tide change. As he always does, the Ukrainian found a way to swing the fight back into his favor and won both the seventh and the eighth before his best round happened in the ninth.
Usyk stunned Fury with a right-left combination that sent him reeling into the ropes. As Fury bounced back towards him, Usyk unleashed a torturous barrage of blows, and Fury hit every set of ropes and two corner posts. Referee Mark Nelson eventually stepped in to give Fury a break, but there could have been no complaints if he’d stopped the fight entirely.
In true Fury fashion, he somehow recovered after being saved by the bell again. However, Usyk only had to win one more round to leave Fury needing a knockout. He won the tenth and eleventh rounds on two of the scorecards [not with Metcalfe] to secure the sport’s ultimate prize. Fury rebounded to win the twelfth on all three cards but was still outscored by Usyk in that round, leaving it debatable.
Usyk vs Fury percentage punches and power punches landed [by CompuBox]
Round 1 – Fury 24.3% [1]
2 – Fury 32.5% [4]
3 – Fury 32.6% [7]
4 – Fury 33.3% [11]
5 – Fury 40% [16]
6 – Fury 41.7% [15]
7 – Fury 27.9% [9]
8 – Fury 24.2% [6]
9 – Fury 39% [11]
10 – Fury 12.5% [2]
11 – Fury 37.5% [6]
12 – Fury 24.4% [7]
Round 1 – Usyk 44.4% [6]
2 – Usyk 57.7% [8]
3 – Usyk 37.5% [7]
4 – Usyk 31.7% [11]
5 – Usyk 40% [7]
6 – Usyk 35.7% [7]
7 – Usyk 43.3% [10]
8 – Usyk 41% [12]
9 – Usyk 53.3% [18]
10 – Usyk 42.1% [13]
11 – Usyk 39.4% [9]
12 – Usyk 38.3% [14]
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
