RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The rematch is days away. Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will go at it again on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk won a split decision the first time and became boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion in 24 years. Since then, Usyk gave up the IBF title now held by Daniel Dubois.
So, Usyk’s WBC, WBA and WBO belts will be on the line at Kingdom Arena — the same Riyadh venue that hosted the first meeting in May.
How to watch
The 12-round fight is available pay-per-view on DAZN in most countries. The ring walk for Usyk-Fury is expected around 5 p.m. Eastern. That’s 10 p.m. London time and 1 a.m. (Sunday) in Riyadh.
Betting favorite
According to BetMGM Sportsbook, Usyk is a slight favorite at 3/4 odds to win, and Fury at 11/10 odds to win. The odds for a draw are 15/1.
What happened in the first fight?
Usyk secured a narrow victory on two scorecards, 115-112 and 114-113. The other judge favored Fury, 114-113. Through the first seven rounds, Fury was ahead on each scorecard, but Usyk began to rally. Usyk nearly finished off his 6-foot-9 opponent in the ninth, when he was credited with a knockdown before Fury was saved by the bell.
What’s at stake?
Besides Usyk’s three belts, there are legacies at stake. Usyk is 22-0 and wants cement his place as one of the greats with a decisive victory. The 37-year-old Ukrainian is also representing his country amid Russia’s continuing military invasion. Fury (34-1-1) wants to avenge his only professional loss. The 36-year-old Englishman is 5-0 in rematches.
Of course, there’s tens of millions of dollars on the line as well. The purse is a reported $190 million, though the fighters’ cuts are not known. The paydays could get even bigger if there’s a trilogy fight. Fury said this week that if he wins, he’ll want a third bout. Usyk said “we’ll see.”
Who else is fighting?
Promising heavyweight Moses Itauma puts his undefeated record (10-0, 8 KOs) on the line against Australian Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KOs). The 19-year-old Slovakia-born southpaw is a big puncher — none of his past six bouts have gone past the second round.
Elsewhere on the undercard, an all-British heavyweight bout features Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs) vs. David Allen (23-6-2, 18 KOs).
The first fight is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Eastern.
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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing