Oleksandr Usyk: the night the belts were united

On May 18, 2024, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision in Riyadh and united the four major heavyweight titles. The Ukrainian had previously been undisputed champion at cruiserweight.

A split decision means the judges were not unanimous in choosing a winner. It describes the official outcome rather than replacing it with a personal assessment. In the first Usyk–Fury contest, the victory and the unification belonged to the Ukrainian boxer.

Professional boxing titles are distributed across organisations. Winning a championship bout and becoming undisputed are therefore not always the same achievement. The significance of this May 2024 contest was the unification of the division’s four major belts.

Usyk’s story also connects cruiserweight and heavyweight, two separate divisions whose achievements should be considered separately. This article focuses on that night in Riyadh. It is neither a current champions’ list nor an account of every subsequent contest.