RIYADH – 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.
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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