In eight days', Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will meet for a second time, live on DAZN Pay-Per-View, following a brilliant battle earlier this year.
As part of the DAZN News Big Fight Countdown, we go back to 2018 when Usyk ended the career of one of British boxing’s most popular fighters.
Oleksandr Usyk was undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the summer of 2018, but there was still one more fight that he wanted to partake in before exiting the division.
In 2016, Tony Bellew defeated Junior Makabu to win the WBC cruiserweight title, but it would not be long before he jumped to heavyweight to face David Haye in a memorable two fight series.
After moving up, Bellew was still seen as a dominant force at cruiserweight and Usyk was eager to test himself against the Liverpool fighter.
After defeating Haye twice, Bellew headed back down and his quest to become undisputed champion would take place at a congested Manchester Arena against the pound-for-pound superstar.
Bellew, who began the fight a significant underdog, had no interest in trying to outsmart Usyk and have a boxing match with the talented Ukrainian.
Aggressive from the outset, Bellew raced out and built a comfortable lead as he constantly forced the fight to take the first three rounds.
At the halfway point, things were starting to change and at the end of round six, it appeared that Bellew had been hurt right on the bell.
From this point, Usyk was now starting to take advantage of the effort Bellew had demonstrated in the fight’s opening stages, and he was the fresher man.
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After landing numerous shots in round eight, Usyk could sense his man wilting and a well-timed left hand was the shot that finally ended Bellew’s title dreams.
Bellew desperately tried to make it back to his feet, but the referee abandoned his count which led to big celebrations in the Usyk corner.
In the immediate aftermath, Bellew confirmed that he would definitely be walking away from the sport following a highly successful career, but for Usyk, he was moving on to even bigger prizes.
Three years later, against Anthony Joshua, Usyk would become heavyweight champion , and he would own every belt in the division after beating Tyson Fury in 2024 .
Watch Usyk vs. Fury 2 on DAZN PPV - Buy Now
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 and the full undercard will be broadcast live on DAZN Pay-Per-View worldwide in over 200 countries.
You can buy the PPV right now for £24.99 in the UK / $39.95 in the US, which comes with a seven day free trial of DAZN. For more information, prices in your region and to buy now, click here .
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