Eddie Hearn predicts "dark times" ahead for Tyson Fury after his first career loss to Oleksandr Usyk
Tyson Fury suffered the first defeat of his professional career against Oleksandr Usyk on May 18th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The much-anticipated clash was contested over 12 rounds, with both fighters at their best on fight night as they traded blows until the final bell.
Usyk was handed a split-decision victory to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
Having never tasted defeat before, leading boxing promoter Eddie Hearn believes that 'The Gypsy King' will have some tough months ahead of him as he looks to climb his way back to the top of the heavyweight mountain.
The Matchroom Boxing chairman was recently interviewed by iFL TV, where he reflected on Fury vs. Usyk, saying:
"Fury will really struggle to deal with this. He's a winner, and he's never lost before. It's the first defeat of his career, and he's a happy go lucky guy. And he'll give it the big one. But deep down, there'll be dark times and there will be dark nights. But the dark times and the dark nights are what actually fuel you to come back stronger."
Watch Eddie Hearn discuss Tyson Fury's defeat below from 10:50:
Tyson Fury has activated his rematch clause for Oleksandr Usyk clash, confirms promoter
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk went to war in the main event of the Ring of Fire card held in Saudi Arabia on May 18.
With neither man having suffered defeat before, their clash was about as high-stakes as possible, with both their unbeaten records and a piece of heavyweight history on the line.
After being dominated for much of the opening six rounds, Usyk was able to adjust to his opponent and began asserting himself in the fight. The momentum of the fight began to change, and 'The Cat' landed the biggest punch of the fight in Round 9, which almost finished the bout.
After being handed his first-ever defeat, Fury has now officially activated the rematch clause in his contract, as per talkSPORT boxing editor Michael Benson.
He took to X and wrote this:
"Tyson Fury has now confirmed that he will take the Oleksandr Usyk rematch next, Frank Warren has revealed. He said they will push ahead with plans for the second fight to take place in October in Saudi Arabia."
See Michael Benson's post below: