There will indeed be a rematch. Oleksandr Usyk, who claimed the undisputed heavyweight title in outpointing Tyson Fury earlier this month, will rematch the “Gypsy King” on Dec. 21 in Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh announced on Wednesday.
Usyk defeated Fury by split decision on May 18, also in Saudi Arabia. The fight had multiple momentum swings, with Usyk starting strong before Fury took over the fight with jabs, body work and heavy uppercuts. Usyk then grabbed momentum back before scoring a knockdown and nearly finishing the fight in Round 9.
With the victory, Usyk unified his WBO, WBA and IBF championships with Fury’s WBC title to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era. The contract for the fight stipulated that the loser had the right to trigger a rematch clause, which Fury made clear in the ring that he intended to do.
It’s unclear whether Usyk will still hold all four world championships when the rematch rolls around. The IBF had previously stated that the winner of the first fight would be stripped if a rematch happened as they would be failing to meet their obligation to face mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic, who has spent two years waiting for a shot at the belt.
Usyk’s team filed a motion with the IBF to be granted an exception so he could retain the title and continue forward as undisputed champion for the Fury rematch but the IBF has not confirmed whether they will approve Usyk’s request.