Oleksandr Usyk defends his WBC, WBA ‘super’, WBO and IBO heavyweight crowns against Tyson Fury in a highly-anticipated rematch at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday.
Usyk vs Fury 2 is available on pay-per-view in the UK on Sky Sports, TNT Sports and DAZN and on DAZN pay-per-view in the USA.
This one is a re-run of the May meeting between two of the premier heavyweights on the planet, and plenty were skeptical about Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) as the smaller man coming into the original clash.
The Ukrainian boxed to a fantastic gameplan in Riyadh, taking Fury’s best before wearing his man down, dropping ‘The Gypsy King’ in round nine before claiming a split decision to become the undisputed champion.
After winning the same accolade at cruiserweight, the 36-year-old rose to the occasion against Anthony Joshua in September 2021, taking a deserved points win in Tottenham to become unified heavyweight king.
A split decision rematch win followed before Usyk knocked out Daniel Dubois, and that win led the path to undisputed greatness against Fury.
‘The Cat’ relinquished his IBF crown to set up a second outing with Fury with the aforementioned Dubois becoming IBF champion.
Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) captured the unified heavyweight title in 2015, dethroning the great Wladimir Klitschko, but his life then spiralled, and he would embark on a monumental comeback that saw him rise back to the top, winning the WBC belt in a rematch seventh round stoppage of Deontay Wilder in February 2020.
The 36-year-old would repeat the trick in a trilogy match, before defending against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, both in stoppage successes.
The Brit then had to embarrassingly get off the deck before taking a razor-thin split verdict over boxing first-timer Francis Ngannou last October, before facing Usyk.
Prediction: The consensus is that Fury will come in heavier than before for this one, and that could well be to his detriment, with Usyk a skilled boxer and technician. After coming through some early scares, I think Usyk will then take over against a tiring Fury, and win clearly on the scorecards.
Bohachuk battles Davis
Another 12 rounder on the card sees super welterweight contender, Serhii Bohachuk in action, and he takes on Leeds’ Ishmael Davis, who steps in Israil Madrimov, who withdrew through illness.
Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) lost via majority decision to Vergil Ortiz Jr for the interim WBC title in August, where he scored two knockdowns, while Davis (13-1, 6 KOs) took Josh Kelly to the wire, losing a close majority verdict of his own in September, another bout he took on late notice.
Prediction: Davis will carry ambition as always, shown in his win earlier this year against Troy Williamson, but Bohachuk should be too strong here, and should win inside the distance.
Itauma meets McKean
Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) continues his fast track to the top, and he should be able to see off the challenge of Australia’s Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KOs) inside schedule, with McKean not seen since being halted in the final round of his meeting with Filip Hrgovic last August.
Prediction: Itauma can take this one inside schedule.
Fisher clashes with Allen
Johnny Fisher continues his education against the experienced and popular Dave Allen.
Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs) scored an impressive first round stoppage over Alen Babic in July, while Allen (23-6-2, 18 KOs) has two wins since a sixth round retirement loss to Frazer Clarke last September.
Prediction: Fisher can take out his faded rival early on in their contest.
McGrail faces Edwards
Peter McGrail was due to face Dennis McCann in an intriguing match, but McCann was withdrawn after an adverse finding in a pre-fight VADA test.
Rhys Edwards (16-0, 4 KOs) was training for a fight with Lyon Woodstock, and steps in at short notice.
Prediction: He can give a good account of himself here, but McGrail (10-1, 6 KOs) should prevail on points.
Remaining Undercard
Andrii Novytskyi (13-0, 10 KOs) should retain his WBC International title by being the first to stop Edgar Ramirez (10-1-1, 4 KOs).
At light heavyweight, Daniel Lapin (10-0, 4 KOs) can take a fifth early win on the bounce against unbeaten Frenchman Dylan Colin (14-0, 4 KOs).
In a crossroads clash at featherweight, I favour Lee McGregor (14-1-1, 11 KOs) to get the better of Isaac Lowe (25-2-3, 8 KOs) and record a win on the scorecards.
Mohammed Alakel (1-0) should be a points winner against Joshua Ocampo (8-33-5, 6 KOs).
