Teddy Atlas thinks the judges did a great job [at least two of them] rightfully so, giving Oleksandr Usyk a 12-round split decision victory over Tyson Fury in their undisputed heavyweight fight in Riyad.

Atlas came close but felt IBF/WBA/WBO champion Usyk (22-0, 14 KO) fought well in the championship rounds after hurting Fury (34-1-1, 24 KO) in the ninth round. Teddy says he was close to being arrested. Fury’s talisman worked this round.

Did the referee throw Fury a lifeline?

“It was a very close fight but he stormed the goal all the way and you could argue that if the referee doesn’t step in he will stop him in this round [ninth]” said boxing analyst Teddy Atlas BoxNationdiscussing Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over Tyson Fury.

Fury was on the verge of stopping the action by the referee. Fans still believe the referee messed up when he gave 35-year-old Fury a standing eight because he was still upright and took a penalty from Usyk.

Let’s put it this way: how often do you see a referee step in and stop the action to give a fighter an eight when he’s on the brink of being knocked out?

Of all the notable fights that took place on Saturday night, how many of them involved the referee giving a count of eight to a struggling fighter when he was just seconds away from being knocked out? For something like this to happen in a Fury-Usyk fight involving popular A-team fighter Fury looked suspicious to the boxing public.

I know you could call it a knockout. The ropes kept him on his feet, but it was very close to stopping the fight,” Atlas said of Fury. “The most critical thing is him [Usyk] he won all the overdue rounds when he hurt him. The last two rounds were close.

Usyk wins, but it was close

“Give a lot of credit to Fury. He showed a lot of championship heart and resilience to get close in the last two rounds, but in the end I think they succeeded. The 10-8 round was very critical to be able to get two points,” Atlas said.

The only reason Fury was able to fight reasonably well in rounds 10, 11 and 12 was because Usyk wasn’t going to the finish like he should have. He let Fury off the hook and it almost came back and bit him in the ass.

“Not only did he win those rounds at the end, but he also won one the way he did and then won the rounds after that to keep the momentum going. Like I said, it was really close in the last two rounds because Fury came back in those last two rounds to get close. But I thought they got it right,” Atlas said of the judges.

BRITISH heavyweight fighter Frazer Clarke has decided to pay tribute to Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury after their undisputed heavyweight title fight in Riyad last night.

Going into the historic contest, Fury-Usyk was rated 50-50, and both men proved it after going the distance of 12 rounds. Although the Ukrainian agreed, two of the best heavyweights in the world gained huge recognition.

“I’m joyful to be in this division and I’m joyful to be in the era of those two because they were amazing,” Clarke beamed to Boxing News.

The 32-year-old helped produce a British title classic on March 31, when he and Fabio Wardley beat each other in a hellish battle at London’s O2 Arena.

While Fury and Usyk didn’t make the Gatti-Ward heavyweights, their unique skill sets and punching accuracy created a different kind of edge-of-your-seat drama.

“What a fantastic fight,” Clarke said.

“I think Usyk won that round, but Tyson was unbelievable. How Usyk changed pace after a few rounds where Tyson really found his rhythm and came out on top. Unbelievable. They both delivered to me. This is what we expected from an undisputed fight.”

Clarke spent the night alongside Sky Sports’ Andy Scott, analyzing the card and another look at the biggest heavyweight fight in 25 years. The 2020 Olympic bronze medalist praised Fury for surviving the ninth round, during which the “Gypsy King” came close to being stopped, but instead received a standing eight count from referee Mark Nelson.

“Great round and kudos to Tyson because a lot of heavyweights will really finish it. This is a really good attack from Usyk. I feel like Tyson needed those rounds, which Tyson won. He had to work strenuous. He had to take many more shots than in previous rounds. I feel like if he kept doing that, he would have won the fight.

While the elderly saying, “A good gigantic un beats a good little un” remains true, Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over Tyson Fury reminded us that skill and will play a key role in balancing this equation.

Usyk remained peaceful throughout the week, while Fury was as erratic as ever; he remained hushed during the press conference before hurling profanities during the weigh-in.

It’s all part of the theater of the unexpected.

It’s not often that boxing is the main sporting event of the weekend, but this was one of those occasions. In the “The Ring’s Fight Picks” ranking, the experts were divided quite evenly.

Turki AlalShikh truly took boxing to the next level and made us believe that every fight is possible regardless of who the promoter is and which TV channel he works with.

Usyk and Fury were previously unable to finalize an agreement for a myriad of reasons, but His Excellency was able to break down those barriers and make the impossible possible.

We had to wait another three months when Fury was cut before the original February 17 date. It all added to the drama. After all, we have waited over 20 years for the undisputed heavyweight champion. What difference will three more months make?

There was also the Razzmatazz that goes hand in hand with such a fantastic show, as well as a pad that prepared everything perfectly.

Oleksandr Usyk did not withdraw from his fight with Tyson Fury at any point in the preparation for the May 18 fight. (Photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

When the opening bell rang, Usyk was quick to step in and initiate the action, and that continued throughout. Despite giving up 30 pounds and other assorted physical advantages, he had no problem going into the fire.

The Ukrainian wizard started well and, for my taste, won the first three rounds. However, there were signs of life in the third game from Fury who then turned the tables on Usyk and I felt like I won rounds four to six with some uppercuts and good body work that seemed to bother Usyk, which leveled the fight.

We have seen in the past that when Usyk needed something, he responded matter-of-factly and that was the case here. The seventh round was a turning point for me, with Usyk successfully stopping the rot. There was no doubt in the eighth when Usyk bloodied Fury’s nose with a well-timed left hand, and at the end of the ninth Usyk rocked Fury strenuous, sending him drunkenly off the bar and into the ropes. Usyk’s unerring aim knocked Fury’s head back and into the ropes, where referee Mark Nelson intervened and counted Fury. These were the whispers Fury received when Nelson stopped the fight, which couldn’t really be argued with, but he was probably referring to Fury’s regenerative powers. Fury stood up and looked exhausted. It seemed to take forever for Nelson to count and by then the round was over.

A minute of rest didn’t prove to be enough, but to Fury’s credit he managed to survive round 10 and, although still shaken, managed to stay on his feet. Usyk chose not to empty his gas tank, outnumbered Fury and took the round.

Usyk dominated again in 11th place, and 12th place was again, for me, the turnaround. I had no doubt that Usyk would win, but it wasn’t my scorecard that mattered. Michael Buffer read 115-112 Usyk, 114-113 Fury, then 114-113 Usyk.

Fortunately, the right man won, but what’s disturbing is how Craig Metcalfe came up with Fury as the winner. I don’t remember anyone other than Fury claiming to have won in the post-fight interview.

The 21st century witnessed the greatest fight of all and unveiled to the world the undisputed heavyweight boxer of the world: Oleksandr Usyk
History was made on the land of Riyad. great fight Fury as expected, I’m waiting for the rematch! pic.twitter.com/sJPfcRwlH2

— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) May 19, 2024

Before the weekend, Naoya Inoue was number 1, Terence Crawford was number 2 and Usyk was number three.

The great performance even caught the attention of Crawford.

Man, you better show some respect @usykaa Man. Definitely a candidate for the No. 1 P4P player in the world. I’m not a hater. He beat a man who beat a man in a bigger division, giving back to what he had already done. Greetings, brother!

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) May 18, 2024

Both sides agreed before the fight to a rematch tentatively scheduled for October, and nothing changed during their post-fight interviews.

There seems to be little more that Usyk can do in boxing than topping up his bank account. After winning gold at the 2012 Olympics as part of the Ukrainian dream team along with Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Vasily Lomachenko and Denys Berinchyk, who added to his country’s joy a few hours later by winning the world title.

Usyk turned professional in tardy 2013. I clearly remember seeing him around when I attended Wladimir Klitschko-Kubrat Pulev in Hamburg, Germany in November 2014. We spoke briefly, but what always stuck with me was how valued I was at ringside when he was on the field. outer bowl, basically in the crowd. I had to go to him because he wasn’t allowed in the ring.

His talent was never in doubt and he won the WBO title in his 10th fight against undefeated Krzysztof Głowacki in the defending champion’s home country of Poland. After several defenses, he teamed up to defeat WBC counterpart Mairis Briedis again behind enemy lines, this time in Latvia. He became Ring Magazine’s undisputed champion after a near-flawless performance against Murat Gassiev in Russia and added the Muhammad Ali Trophy to the mix.

Initially, it took him some time to get used to fighting in the heavyweight division against the likes of Chazz Witherspoon and Dereck Chisora, but as he got the hang of it, he was able to defeat Anthony Joshua twice, Daniel Dubois and now Fury. Not bad.

Usyk is a first-ballot star who is probably in all-time great territory right now. Not bad for someone who couldn’t even stand ringside for a heavyweight title fight ten years ago.