Oleksandr Usyk was briefly suspended after a thrilling victory over Tyson Fury. In their uncontested fight, Usyk almost knocked Fury down in the ninth round, with only the ropes keeping the Briton upright. The referee intervened to count and despite recovering after the final bell, Fury suffered his first career defeat by a split decision in Saudi Arabia.
After the fight, Usyk was taken to hospital for an examination and everything was fine, even though Fury claimed he broke his opponent’s jaw. However, industry website BoxRec reports that the British Boxing Board of Control has suspended Usyk until June 2, likely due to his injury. No such suspension was recorded in Fury’s records.
The suspension will not affect Usyk’s career as the Ukrainian boxer is ready to take a break after the nine-month training camp. His fight with Fury was reportedly initially postponed from December to February and then to May mirror.
“I don’t want to think about boxing right now,” said Usyk, who attended the post-fight news conference with his daughter Yelizaveta’s stuffed Eeyore. “My camp started in September 2023 and I worked for nine months.
“I missed Elated Fresh Year, I missed my son’s birthday, I missed my other son’s birthday, I missed my daughter’s birthday and then my daughter’s birth. I also missed family holidays. I was only focused on this fight. Now I’m “I’m content and I want to go home.”
Usyk’s reign as undisputed champion will be short-lived, with the IBF preparing to strip him of the title due to his contractual obligations to rematch Fury in October, which prevents him from facing mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic.
Despite a second fight looming, Fury was uncommitted immediately after the loss. “I just had a fight. As you can see from my face, I’m pretty nervous, and Usyk was taken to hospital with a broken jaw. He’s pissed too,” Fury noted, showing the toll of the intense fight.
“We fought each other for 12 rounds, so I’ll go home, eat something, drink a few beers, spend some time with my family, walk the dog, go for a tip-off. I’ll regroup and then me and (promoter) Frank Warren will talk about what’s going to happen in the future. I’ll talk to my wife and kids and see what I want to do. If there’s another fight in October, well, rock and roll.”