The heavyweight division has undergone a monumental shift in recent years. Once dominated by Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, the two Brits held the key to unification in the Blue Riband division as they shared the top belts. Now, Oleksandr Usyk has stamped his authority on the weight class.
Many doubted the Ukrainian when he made the step up from cruiserweight, with his height and punching power put under the microscope. However, he’s proven almost everybody wrong—beating ‘AJ’ twice and becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion with a win over Fury in May.
Next month sees another defining moment in the division. Fury will attempt to avenge his sole career defeat against the Ukrainian back at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia—which has become a mecca for boxing’s biggest bouts—on December 21.
Their first meeting ended in a split-decision victory for Usyk, with two judges scoring it 115-112 and 114-113 for the Ukrainian, while the other controversially went 114-113 for Fury. It could have been a greater margin success for Usyk, and the Fury odds are not in his favour this time out.
With boxing pundits and fans now starting to question Joshua’s legacy in the sport, one wonders whether Fury will get the same treatment should he suffer the same feat as his fellow Brit and lose to Usyk again next month.
Of course, one of the biggest things to consider is that this will be just Fury’s second defeat of his career, and it would be harsh to really take anything away from him given just how good Usyk has been since stepping up to the heavyweight division.
Conversely, Joshua has suffered losses at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr. and Daniel Dubois. The former was extremely disappointing on his United States debut at Madison Square Garden in 2019, and while he avenged the shock result a year later, it has hung over his head ever since.
The recent defeat to Dubois tarnished his name further. Just when it looked like Joshua was back to his very best following wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin, and Francis Ngannou, the 27-year-old shattered AJ’s dream of becoming world champion again with a devastating knockout at Wembley.
Fury hasn’t been through the same highs and lows in the ring. The closest he came to defeat outside of his loss to Usyk was in his first encounter with Deontay Wilder, sensationally recovering from what looked like a certain knockout late on to earn a draw—which many felt should have even been a win.
The Gypsy King also avenged that draw with successive wins over the Bronze Bomber in Las Vegas, putting a stop to both fights at the MGM Grand Arena and the T-Mobile Arena, so did more than enough to cancel out that blemish.
When you consider Fury’s incredible comeback to the sport in 2018—almost three years after defeating the indomitable Vladimir Klitschko in Germany to be crowned the unified heavyweight champion and then falling into a state of depression—climbing all the way back to the top solidifies his legacy further.
The boxing odds might not be in the Gypsy King’s favour ahead of his rematch with Usyk, but a second defeat in Saudi would do little to tarnish his legacy. A potential future bout with Joshua, if one were to ever materialise, would ultimately decide the greatest British heavyweight of the modern era.
