Fury wants third fight with Usyk, Pacquiao draws on comeback
Former WBC-belt holder Fury was at BOXPARK Wembley on Saturday but did not stick around to watch Usyk dismantle fellow British boxer Daniel Dubois in scintillating fashion at the national stadium.
Usyk's brutal fifth-round stoppage of Dubois made him undisputed world heavyweight champion for a second time after he initially won all the belts against Fury last May in Riyadh before he was forced to vacate his IBF title.
Fury went into retirement after he tasted a second defeat to Usyk on a split decision last December but signalled his intentions to return earlier this month and served notice to the undefeated Ukrainian in the early hours of Sunday morning.
During a video of Fury on a run on his Instagram, the 36-year-old 'Gypsy King' said: "Massive shout out to Oleksandr Usyk. He did a fantastic performance tonight over Daniel Dubois, a good, young, game lad who came for a good tear, so congratulations to both men but Oleksandr Usyk knows there is only one man who can beat him.
"I did it twice before and the world knows it. I have been f***** good and proper. I took it like a man and here is me, not f****** around at some boxing match, I am out on the road running.
"I am running tonight. I came home, I did my job and I got myself back and I am the man. I am the f****** spartan and no matter what anyone wants to say, I won those fights. Guaranteed, 100 per cent. There is only one man. GK (Gypsy King) all day every day. Get up!"
Queensberry chief Frank Warren, Fury's promoter, acknowledged a third fight with Usyk would be "big" but reiterated WBO mandatory Joseph Parker is next in line.
"Tyson has made it very clear to me he would love to fight at Wembley and would love do that fight. And it would be a big fight, I am quite sure of it," Warren admitted.
"As a fan, I would like to see the Joe Parker fight. Joe deserves it, he is on a run himself similar to what Daniel was on and that is the fight that has been ordered.
"One way or another it will either happen or Joe will fight for the vacant title."
Usyk floored Dubois in the fifth round of a thrilling contest at Wembley Stadium on Saturday to once again become the undisputed heavyweight boxing world champion.
The win saw Usyk retain his WBC, WBA and WBO belts and reclaim the IBF belt he vacated last year before a rematch with Fury, with Dubois upgraded to champion and then defending the title against Anthony Joshua last September.
Usyk's skill was evident from the outset as he sidestepped everything thrown his way with deceptive ease and connected repeatedly with his jab, putting on a masterclass in counter-punching against an opponent 11 years younger than him.
Usyk said: "38 is a young guy, remember! 38 is only (the) start! I want to say thank you to Jesus Christ. I want to say thank you to my team and Wembley, thank you so much! It's for the people. Nothing is next. It's enough, next, I don't know. I want to rest. My family, my wife, my children, I want to rest now. Two or three months, I want to just rest."
Usyk, who improved his professional record to 24-0, is now a three-time undisputed champion, twice in the heavyweight division and once as a cruiserweight.
Despite weighing in at a career-heaviest 227.3 pounds, Usyk floated around the ring with an almost balletic grace and prevented Dubois from making the most of his superior size. The Ukrainian comfortably outclassed his opponent in three of the first four rounds, but most of the damage was dealt out in a brutal fifth-round beatdown.
The Ukrainian sent his opponent to the canvas with an overhand right, before a booming left hand right on the chin dashed Dubois' dreams and brought an end to the bout.
Meanwhile, Manny Pacquiao's bid to become the oldest welterweight champion in boxing history fell short Saturday night as he failed to beat Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. But he didn't lose, either.
Instead, the 46-year-old Pacquiao and the 30-year-old Barrios fought to a majority draw, with one judge giving Barrios a 115-113 win and the other two judges scoring it a 114-114 draw.
The result allowed Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) to retain his WBC welterweight belt.
"I thought I won the fight," Pacquiao said afterward. "I mean, it was a close fight. My opponent was very tough. It was a wonderful fight. It was good."
Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) already holds the record for oldest welterweight champion, winning the belt via split-decision over Keith Thurman in 2019. The Filipino legend was enshrined into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last month.
Pacquiao dominated Saturday's fight early on, showing energy against his younger foe. Ultimately, though, CompuBox stats had Barrios landing more punches (120-101) and more jabs (45-20), though Pacquiao landed 81 power punches to Barrios' 75.
Pacquiao held the lead on all three cards after 10 rounds, but Barrios took all three rounds on all three scorecards to avoid the upset. Age and stamina were definitely on Pacquiao's mind after the fight.
"I need to continue my training for longer going into a championship fight," said Pacquiao, who lost his senatorial bid in the Philippines in May. "Because of the election, I started late, but it's OK. Of course I'd like a rematch. I want to leave a legacy and make the Filipino people proud."
Don't tell that to Barrios.
"His stamina is crazy," the champion said. "He's still strong as hell and his timing is real. He's still a very awkward fighter to try to figure out."
As for a rematch, Barrios is ready.
"I'll do the rematch. Absolutely. This was huge for boxing. I'd love to do it again."
Reuters
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