Oleksandr Usyk took to social media to show the brutal aftermath of his heavyweight title fight with Tyson Fury. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian boxer shared a photo of the injuries inflicted on his face by the Briton, who has already confirmed that there will be a rematch.
Days earlier, Usyk was crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since 2000 after defeating Fury by split decision in Riyad. The judges scored the fight 115-112 in favor of Usyk, 114-113 for Fury and 114-113 for Usyk.
The victory was fully deserved as Usyk outscored Fury over 12 rounds in the ring. The 37-year-old published a photo Instagram showing off his two black eyes and the cuts on most of his ankles. The bandage on the right eyebrow further indicated that it required stitches.
Immediately after the fight, Usyk was taken to hospital with a broken jaw. He quashed these fears by attending a press conference shortly afterwards, claiming that doctors had cleared him.
Discussing the injuries Usyk suffered, Queensberry Promotions founder and Fury promoter Frank Warren told talkSPORT: “We don’t know what the impact of the fight will be on both guys because, I’m telling you, Usyk looked like he was going to fight once.”
He had stitches in his eye, he was bruised, they thought his jaw was broken, but in fact it was an injury [tooth] implant that caused him a lot of pain.”
Fury showed off his own post-fight battle scars, arriving at the post-fight press conference with several cuts and bruises on his face. “I just had an argument. As you can see from my face, I’m pretty devastated, and Usyk was taken to hospital with a broken jaw. He’s pissed too,” he told reporters.
Work is already underway on the second clash between Fury and Usyk, and their long-awaited rematch is tentatively scheduled for October 12 or 13 in Saudi Arabia. Discussing his fighter’s status with talkSPORT, Warren said: “He’s back here, he’s recovering and he’s in the mood, he wants a rematch. The contract has already been signed, so it will happen.
“When the fight happened, there was a rematch clause,” he continued. “It was a condition demanded by the people who invested in this fight, so if Tyson wants it, and he said he wants it, then everything will work out, but I told him to go away… he has six months in training camp.
“During this time, he spent three weeks with his family. I told him to go and enjoy this time with his family, sit down and then come back. The deal is done and if he wants to come back and do it, fine.”