Oleksandr Usyk has shown off his facial damage from his brutal clash with Tyson Fury.
The Ukrainian star cemented his name in boxing royalty after becoming the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999, with a thrilling points win over the ‘Gypsy King’ in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Just moments after delivering his post-fight interview in front of a star-studded crowd, Usyk was carried to his dressing room by his team and was reported to have broken his jaw during the gruelling exchanges.
The undisputed champion elect has since posted images of his face for the first time on Instagram, where he can be seen with stitches above his eye.
A true warrior in the ring, Usyk took punishment alongside his rival and is sporting marking around both eyes.
Usyk posed with Fury’s prestigious WBC belt after snatching it from his rival’s clutches, and he captioned the post: “Welcome to the family!”
The 37-year-old looked battered and drained from the elite-level event, but appeared to have escaped any lasting damage to his jaw.
During the showdown, Fury landed 157 punches on Usyk including 95 power punches and it is no wonder that the pound-for-pound great sustained several war wounds.
Despite the barbaric exchanges, Usyk was able to inflict a first career defeat on Fury winning on the judges’ scorecards, while even having threatened to stop the fight in the ninth stanza.
It was indicated that he was rushed immediately to the hospital to receive a medical diagnosis after complaining of jaw pain following the final bell.
Fury suggested as such in his post-fight press conference, with the new undisputed champion initially sending his manager Alex Krassyuk to media duties.
But to the surprise of the boxing world, Usyk once again showed stubborn resilience and arrived at the post-fight conference receiving a loud applause from attending media.
During his address to the media, he suggested he would return home and take some time away, before assessing the contracted immediate rematch which is planned for October.
“I don’t think about boxing now, please,” Usyk said.
“My camp started in September 2023, I worked for nine months.
“I missed Happy New Year, I missed my son’s birthday, I missed my other son’s birthday, I missed my daughter’s birthday and then the birth of my daughter.
“I also missed family holidays. I was only focused on this fight, now I’m happy and I want to go back home.”
Fury bravely faced the media after his devastating narrow split-decision defeat and saluted his long-term foe in an emotional tribute.
“I knew he was a good boxer coming into it, he didn’t surprise me, we had a long training camp, a couple of training camps.
“I believe I was the best I could have been. I don’t think I could have done better.
“If they had said to me, ‘Look you’re down in the last two rounds,’ I could have tried to get him out of there as well.
“It was what it was. I was having a lot of fun. He’s a good fighter. It was a good fight.”
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News Summary:
- Oleksandr Usyk posts picture of battered face after Tyson Fury fight where he reportedly broke his jaw during thrilling win
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