Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury in May, becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion. The fight ended with a split decision, marking Fury's first loss in professional boxing.
The judges' scorecards showed a close contest. Two judges favored Usyk with scores of 115-112 and 114-113, while one judge saw it 114-113 for Fury. The narrow margins on the official scorecards reflected the fight's intensity.
After the bout, Fury didn't agree with the decision. He said in a post-fight interview:
"I've watched the fight back lots of times and still got the same answer, I thought I won the fight, I thought I did enough."
Fury believes he won all but three rounds. He gave Usyk round 8 for a good punch that busted his nose, round 9 as a 10-8 round, and round 10.
Usyk saw the fight differently. In an interview with Boxing King Media, the Ukrainian revealed his own scoring, giving himself seven rounds and Fury five.
The two fighters will meet again on December 21 in Saudi Arabia. Fury thinks this rivalry could become historic. He said:
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"I think this will be one of the great trilogies, me and Usyk, like Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney. Going back to them days. They were great fights and I believe when I beat him again I'll definitely do a trilogy with him. 100%. Got to be. One each and then the trilogy."
Fury's prediction of a trilogy depends on him winning the rematch. But with Usyk proving he can beat the previously undefeated Fury, the next fight promises to be just as thrilling as the first.