Ukraine gets second boxing world champion hours after Oleksandr Usyk's historic undisputed heavyweight title win

Ukrainian boxing notched another feather in its cap as a lightweight boxer from the country captured a world title hours after Oleksandr Usyk's triumph over Tyson Fury. Usyk created history at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 18 when he became the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in nearly 25 years.

A few hours after Usyk's iconic win, his 2012 Olympics teammate Denys Berinchyk defeated Emanuel Navarrete via split decision to win the vacant WBO lightweight title. Berinchyk faced Navarrete in a 12-round fight in San Diego, California, and walked away with a split-decision win (116-112, 115-113, 112-116).

Usyk did not miss the opportunity to be a part of his compatriot's achievement and watched the fight from Riyadh.

It has been a great month for the war-torn country as three of its elite boxers won world titles. While Usyk vs. Fury was a closely contested fight, the Ukrainian had the most significant moment of the contest when he had Fury badly hurt in Round 9 and came close to knocking him out. In the end, two of the three judges scored the bout in Usyk's favor and he became a winner by split decision.

In doing so, Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in November 1999. That said, Usyk will reportedly vacate the IBF heavyweight title as per a contractual agreement.

Meanwhile, Berinchyk vs. Navarrete was a relatively slow-paced affair that saw both fighters miss a lot of punches. With the win, Berinchyk extended his professional boxing record to a perfect 19-0.

Apart from Usyk and Berinchyk, former WBC, WBO, WBA and The Ring lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko also won a world title on May 12. Lomachenko defeated former champion George Kambosos Jr. in lopsided fashion to capture the vacant IBF lightweight title.

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