Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia to retain his undisputed heavyweight boxing crown.

Oleksandr Usyk remained undefeated when he successfully defended his undisputed heavyweight belt with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Judges Gerardo Martinez, Patrick Morley and Ignacio Robles had identical scorecards in favour of Usyk, 116-112.

Usyk landed 179 of the 423 (42 percent) punches thrown, while Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) landed just 144 of the 509 punches he threw, a 28 percent clip.

Asked if he agreed with the judges’ scores, Usyk implied that it was not his place to question, only to box. “I win, it’s good,” said Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs). “Not my deal. I win. Thank you, God.”

The highly anticipated rematch from a May bout in which Fury suffered his first loss lived up to the hype from the moment the boxers entered the arena.

Usyk’s team requested the Middle East Professional Boxing Commission during Friday’s rules meeting to mandate that Fury trim his beard ahead of their unified heavyweight championship rematch.

He had a beard as burly as Santa Claus less than a week before Christmas, but the 36-year-old sauntered in unshaven and donning a bright red Christmas-themed robe with Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You accompanying his walk to the ring.

After Fury opened the fight with a rather quick pace and controlled the first two rounds, Usyk responded in the third and fourth rounds by working the body while slipping in occasional power combinations to the head.

Fury landed several big shots in the fifth round, but Usyk’s left hand was the story in the sixth, staggering his bigger and taller opponent twice.

In the second half of the fight, it became apparent that carrying the extra weight was wearing Fury down, as the pace began to catch up to him while Usyk’s calm and patient approach favoured him. Usyk’s ability to get inside, strike quickly and damage Fury with stinging combinations was the difference.

Feeling the pressure, a spirited Fury came out swinging in the 10th, bullying Usyk throughout the round. Usyk held him off at times with a steady jab, while an uppercut from Fury scored late.

Usyk’s speed came to life again in the 11th, landing blistering combinations to Fury’s head to keep him at bay.

The two traded flurries of punches in the final round, Fury hoping to make one final impression on the judges while Usyk was looking for an exclamation point.

Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced on X (formerly Twitter) earlier in the week that an experimental AI judge would also return results. The innovative virtual system has Usyk winning, 118-112.

Fury, who is now 5-1 in rematches, left the ring immediately after the result was announced, but later told reporters in the dressing room area: “I thought I won it by at least three rounds. I bossed the fight.”

Speaking in the press conference, sporting a bruised right eye, he added: “I thought I’ve won both fights, but then again I’ve got two losses on my record now, so there’s not much I can do about it.

“I can just fight me heart out and do the best I can. But I’ll always believe until the day I die that I won that fight.”

Only three belts were on the line this time after the IBF stripped Usyk for not facing its mandatory challenger, Daniel Dubois.

Dubois interrupted Usyk’s post-fight interview, snatched the microphone and demanded a rematch from their fight on August 26, 2023. Usyk won by knockout in the ninth round.

“I want my revenge, Usyk,” Dubois said. “Well done tonight, but I want my revenge.”

Usyk obliged by telling the powers that be in attendance: “Your Excellency, make me fight with Daniel. Thank you so much.”

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Al Jazeera and news agencies