That’s all for today. Thanks as always for following along with us and be sure to check out the inestimable Donald McRae’s ringside report from an unforgettable Saturday night (and early Sunday morning) in Riyadh.
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“I thought the fight was over,” Hearn says. “Honestly, I’m watching Fury, he was unbelievable. His movement, that he used his size, he started to lean on Usyk. You know, he’s walking him onto everything, bringing him up through the middle, the jab was on point. He was showboating. People say, did he switch off? He’s just being Tyson Fury.
“You’re not going take that away from the fighter. That’s what he’s done in all those fights where he’s looked sensational. You have to mark the brilliance of Oleksandr Usyk. You’re talking about a guy that, he beat every champion at cruiserweight. He went up and he beat [Anthony Joshua] twice to become the unified world heavyweight champion. He’s just beaten Tyson Fury. You’re talking about one of the greatest fighters of our generation.
“You could have had any amount of money in a bet after six rounds, that fight was over. There was no way. I’m sitting there thinking, this is unbelievable. This is a walk in the park. There’s going to be no rematch. AJ straight in with Fury. And all of a sudden, it turns, and as I said, the ninth round, probably lucky to survive, but showed unbelievable heart to stay on his feet. Incredible, incredible fight.”
Hearn adds: “As a Brit, we wanted to win tonight, but you can’t help but but feel for [Usyk] and his country. I mean, what an achievement. The guy is going to lift Ukraine. He’s going be an absolute national hero and so he should be. You know, he’s a he’s a good man. He’s a good human. And what a performance. Because honestly, I thought he was completely done in that fight.”
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