By: Jared Parry
All eyes will be on the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this Saturday, as Tyson Fury takes on Oleksandr Usyk in one of, if not, the biggest fight of this generation, as an undisputed world heavyweight champion will be crowned for the first time since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
The IBO world heavyweight title will be proudly carried into battle by Usyk, who will also be defending his IBF, WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine titles, and trying to win the WBC title held by Fury to complete the set. However, Fury looks to recapture the titles that he never lost in the ring (including the IBO), but only one man can leave Riyadh as undisputed champion.
The last time an undisputed world champion was crowned in the heavyweight division was on the 13th of November, 1999, when WBC Champion Lennox Lewis scored a unanimous decision victory over IBF & WBA champion Evander Holyfield to capture undisputed status, which included the IBO world title.
Lewis defended the coveted IBO title three times alongside his IBF & WBC titles in 2000 but would lose those titles in one of the most historic upsets in heavyweight history, when he travelled to South Africa and succumbed to a shock fifth-round knockout defeat to Hasim Rahman on the 22 nd of April 2001. However, Lewis immediately got his revenge claiming all
his world titles back just under seven months later, landing a thunderous 1-2 combination in round four, instigating Jim Lampley’s iconic line “BOOM, Will Rahman get up, or have the tables been turned?” as ‘The Lion’ reclaimed his throne atop the heavyweight division.
After defeating Mike Tyson in one of the highest-grossing fights in boxing history, Lewis called time on his career following his victory over Vitali Klitschko in 2003, which began a new era for the heavyweight division.
In 2006, Wladimir Klitschko began his monumental reign as IBO World heavyweight champion, as he added to the IBO World title to his IBF title when he defeated Chris Byrd in Germany with a seventh-round stoppage.
Klitschko held the IBO World title for just under 10 years, with 18 defences which included names such as Hasim Rahman, Samuel Peter, David Haye, Alexander Povetkin, and Kubrat Pulev to name a few, making him the longest reigning IBO World heavyweight champion in history.
The man who dethroned him was the man looking to become a two-time IBO World heavyweight champion this weekend, Tyson Fury. Travelling into Dusseldorf, Fury was the underdog, but didn’t let it faze him, as he produced a phenomenal performance to end Klitschko’s reign by unanimous decision on the 28th of November 2015. Fury didn’t defend the belt as his well-documented mental health troubles outside the ring saw him vacate the titles.
Klitschko was given the opportunity to become the second two-time IBO World heavyweight champion, as the title was added to his highly anticipated bout with Anthony Joshua. Joshua and Klitschko put on a spectacle at Wembley Stadium on the 28th of April 2017, but the youth came out on top as Joshua toppled Klitschko in the 11th round in one of the greatest heavyweight nights in history, as he added the IBO and WBA World heavyweight titles to his IBF title.
Like Lewis, Joshua’s reign ended in shock fashion, as after just over two years of holding the IBO World heavyweight title, late replacement opponent Andy Ruiz shook up the heavyweight division, and rose from the canvas in round three to stop Joshua in round seven to capture the IBO, IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight titles in Madison Square Garden in another historic upset.
Joshua also regained the belt in quick fashion, rematching Ruiz just over six months later, as he boxed to a unanimous decision to become the second two-time IBO World heavyweight champion and making Ruiz the shortest reigning IBO World heavyweight champion.
In 2021, Joshua was dethroned once again, this time by the current IBO World heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk, as the Ukrainian scored a wide unanimous decision to capture the IBO World heavyweight title, along with the IBF, WBA and WBO titles. Joshua opted for an immediate rematch, but was unable to recapture the throne, as Usyk got the victory by split decision.
Usyk has since made a defence against England’s Daniel Dubois in 2023 and looks to defeat another Englishman in Fury this weekend, however, Fury will once again look to defeat a Ukrainian to capture the IBO world title, like he did in 2015 vs. Klitschko.
The historic bout takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 18th, with the undercard also featuring IBO Super-Featherweight World champion, Anthony Cacace challenging IBF champion Joe Cordina in a night where history will be made.