Fury vs. Usyk
For the first time in 24 years, an undisputed heavyweight champion will be crowned. The fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday May 18 will be for the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO, Lineal and The Ring heavyweight championships, creating the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis back in 2000.
The Fury vs. Usyk fight has been long-awaited and long-rumored, but it will finally take place about three months later than expected. Fury suffered a cut in training, pushing the fight back from February to May. The only cut sustained on Fight Week up to this point has been Fury’s father, John, after getting into a scuffle with a member of Usyk’s entourage.
The Fury vs. Usyk bout will be the Main Event of a nine-fight evening that includes cruiserweight and featherweight title fights.
Fury vs. Usyk Odds
Tyson Fury -120 // Oleksandr Usyk +100
Over/Under: 10.5 Rounds (-320/+220)
DraftKings odds as of Monday May 13, 2 p.m. PT
Fury vs. Usyk Date
Saturday, May 18, 2024. The card starts at noon ET with the with main-event ring walks scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
How to Watch Fury vs. Usyk
DAZN PPV, ESPN+ PPV
Fury vs. Usyk Prediction
The 35-year-old Fury will be looking to leverage a big height and reach advantage in this fight. He has six inches of height and seven inches of reach on the 37-year-old Usyk. Both fighters come in undefeated with 55 wins between them. Fury did fight Deontay Wilder to a draw for the WBC heavyweight title back in 2018.
Fury’s most recent data point came in this same arena, as he fought to a 10-round split decision win over Francis Ngannou at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. That bout was October 28 and was the first decision win in five fights for Fury, who knocked out Wilder twice after the draw.
Usyk, the 2012 gold medalist in London, knocked out Daniel Dubois back in August to retain his WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles. He beat Anthony Joshua for the second time in 11 months to get The Ring title in August 2022 while defending his other straps. Both wins over Joshua came via decision and he actually broke a three-fight decision streak with the knockout of Dubois.
Usyk has 14 KOs to his name and seven decisions, while Fury has 24 KOs and 10 decision triumphs to go with that lone draw. The underdog in this fight had some difficulty with the bigger fighter in Joshua, who stands 6-foot-6 with 82-inch reach. He won both fights, but Fury, who has never fought Joshua, is even bigger than that at 6-foot-9 with 85-inch reach. Usyk is responsible for two of Joshua’s three defeats.
Fury’s skill set is pretty unparalleled in the heavyweight division right now because he can pair that tremendous size with solid punching power and good, though not great, defense. Usyk’s going to have to post tremendous accuracy numbers here and also find ways to defend from distance to keep Fury from pressing forward. Usyk is a better defensive fighter and should have the better cardio as this fight gets into the later rounds.
This will only be Usyk’s sixth fight at heavyweight, though, and he’s really stepping up in class.
Pick: Tyson Fury (-120)
Fury vs. Usyk Prop Bets
Fight to Go The Distance: Yes -240 // No +175
Total Knockdowns (combined): Over/Under 1.5 (+320/-500)
Winning Method
Fury by decision: +185
Fury by KO/TKO/DQ: +350
Draw: +1400
Usyk by decision: +185
Usyk by KO/TKO/DQ: +475
