Usyk retained his WBA, WBO and WBC world heavyweight titles by a unanimous decision against Fury in an enthralling contest at the Kingdom Arena.

Fury came out determined not to allow the Ukrainian to back him up and looked to sting him with jabs and set up bigger rights, with Usyk trying to move inside and unleash combinations.

The first few rounds were close, but by the fourth, Usyk appeared to be finding his range for his powerful overhand left that almost knocked Fury out in their first fight.

Fury rallied in the fifth and increasingly looked to catch Usyk with body shots. But while Fury put in good work in spells, he was not sustaining it across the rounds and Usyk’s elusive movement and punishing shots wore on the Gypsy King.

Usyk was the aggressor in the seventh, tagging Fury with a hook. Fury looked tired at points as the fight neared its end and he switched to southpaw a few times to try to disrupt the Ukrainian’s slick boxing.

He managed to regain some initiative in the ninth round, landing one-twos and leaning on Usyk in an attempt to sap his energy.

Usyk cracked Fury in the 11th with a quick-fire combination that ended with a left hook to the head.

Both fighters threw wild punches in the final round as they looked to finish strong, but neither found a decisive blow and both claimed victory at the end.

But it was Usyk’s arm that was raised as the Ukrainian remains unbeaten across two divisions and cements his place among the all-time greats.

‘The reality is there is only one fight for Tyson Fury now’

“I don’t think it’s time to start screaming because this night is about Oleksandr Usyk, but the reality is, there is only one fight for Tyson Fury – and that’s Anthony Joshua,” promoter Eddie Hearn told DAZN.

It’s the biggest fight probably in the history of British boxing. Everyone will always want to see it.

“That wasn’t a Fury that looked finished. It wasn’t a flat performance, it wasn’t a poor performance. He didn’t look gun shy, he didn’t look like his punch resistance was in question – Fury is still potentially at the peak of his powers. He just wasn’t quite good enough to beat Usyk tonight.

“For me, AJ against Fury is the one at Wembley. Then it’s back out here for Riyadh season. Fury will struggle with this, all fighters do. AJ struggled with the Daniel Dubois defeat, as well. You’re a winner and it hurts when you get beat.”

One photo to capture a fight

Tyson Fury’s tactics were sound and his performance impressive. The attempt to dominate the centre of the ring and push Oleksandr Usyk back with his jab ultimately failed, however. The champion from Ukraine used his superior pace and skill to round Fury’s attack and defence.