Fans spot the 'precise moment' Tyson Fury lost to Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk has beaten Tyson Fury to become the first undisputed heavyweight boxing world champion this century, and it all came down to a razor-thin call.

Usyk, 37, proved his power in the opening rounds of the hotly-anticipated contest before Fury, 35, engaged in some impressive showmanship in the fourth.

But whilst both behemoths were respectively tipped to win at various bouts in the match, the Ukrainian legend ultimately conquered his self-styled “Gypsy King” rival.

Usyk defeated Fury by split decision in the early hours of Sunday, knocking down his hulking opponent in the ninth round and eventually earning a narrow win.

Two judges favoured Usyk, 115-112 and 114-113, while the third gave it to Fury, 114-113, making the 37-year-old the first heavyweight to hold every major title belt since Lennox Lewis.

And yet, despite Fury putting up a strong fight to the bitter end, fans think they spotted the moment he lost it all.

Twitter/X users accused the Mancunian of letting his titles slip away because he was too focused on messing around and showing off.

One posted: "Fury losing the title because he was too [busy] showboating LMAOOOO.”

“Fury had the chance to put Usyk away after rocking him, but chose to put on a show for the crowd” lamented another. “Defeated by his own ego in the end.”

While another, referencing the theatrics of WWE, commented: “Fury claiming the war in Ukraine was the reason he lost the fight on points and not the fact he was bouncing off the ropes like Rey Mysterio.”

Fury later admitted that he'd been 'having fun' in the ring(Reuters)

Fury kissed Usyk on the head after the final bell, and Usyk hugged Fury several moments after the decision was read. The younger, and considerably taller of the two, also said that he wants a rematch in October.

“I believe I won that fight,” Fury said. “I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority of them, and I believe it was one of those what-can-you-do, one of them ... decisions in boxing. We both put on a good fight, best we can do.

“You know, his country is at war, so people are siding with a country at war. But make no mistake, I won that fight, in my opinion, and I’ll be back. I’ve got a rematch clause.”

Meanwhile, Usyk fought back tears in the ring, saying: “Thank you so much to my team.

”It’s a big opportunity for me, for my family, for my country. Slava Ukraini!”

Usyk is now the first undisputed heavyweight boxing world champion for 24 years(PA)

Both men had requested the matchup, and they finally got together in the ring largely because of the involvement of Saudi Arabia, which made the financial rewards simply too great for the fighters’ promoters and the sanctioning bodies to reject. Fury will reportedly make more than $100 million (around £79,500) from the fight.

To reach the lucrative Western pay-per-view audience, the bout didn’t begin until 1.45 am on Sunday morning in Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena.

Usyk is the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lewis held the honour for five months in 1999 and 2000. He is also now the lineal heavyweight champion by beating Fury, who beat Wladimir Klitschko to earn that distinction in 2015.

After moving up from cruiserweight, Usyk upset Anthony Joshua to win three title belts in 2021. He kept them through a rematch and another defence while angling for the ultimate payday of a fight against Fury in Saudi Arabia.

Usyk has now joined the elite club of fighters who held every major world championship belt at heavyweight — and he is the first to do it in the four-belt era, which began in 2007. The list of undisputed champions includes Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson.

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