Featured Image Credit: @LennoxLewis
Topics: Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Boxing, Saudi Arabia, Lennox Lewis
Alex Brotherton
Topics: Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Boxing, Saudi Arabia, Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis has shared an unseen angle of Tyson Fury's disastrous ninth round in his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk beat Fury by split-decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night to become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
The judges scored 115-112 and 114-113 in Usyk's favour to hand the Ukrainian the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO belts.
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Fury had the better of the early rounds but the turning point came in the ninth.
Usyk dealt several blows to Fury's head that sent the Gypsy King staggering around the ring, with only the ropes preventing him from falling down.
The referee stepped in to give Fury a count, a controversial decision that many fans and pundits believe denied Usyk a knockout.
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Fury was able to recover some of his composure in the remaining three rounds, but the momentum had swung and he lost out by split decision.
Despite narrowly avoiding disaster by the narrowest of margins, after the fight Fury insisted that he should have won.
Defeat cost Fury his unbeaten career record and denied him the chance to become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999.
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Lennox was ringside at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, and after the fight he shared up-close footage of Fury's ninth round wobble.
The 58-year-old couldn't believe what he was seeing, and was caught on camera shaking his head in disbelief as Fury somehow managed to stay on his feet.
After Usyk was declared the winner, Lewis told DAZN that Fury - who on several occasions showboated - got his tactics wrong.
“Fury was boxing like he won the fight,” Lewis said.
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"No boxer can judge and say they won the fight. Every time a round was close they should look at it like a loss."