Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk LIVE: Ring walk time, undercard results and round-by-round updates as the ‘Gypsy King’ looks to become unified champion

Imagine taking a shot like this to the neck… and you are the referee!

Tonight’s referee for the Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk bout is the experienced Mark Nelson.

Eight years ago, Nelson was officiating a match between Maciej Sulecki and Hugo Centeno Jr, and I’m sure he has not forgotten it.

In the seventh round, the referee took a big hit to the neck from Centeno Jr. However, it seems he can take a punch, he ate it like a champion.

I’m sure he won’t want to take one of those shots tonight though…

Predictions from the Mail Sport readers are already rolling in, here are just a few…

Anonymous: Tyson is bigger, he’ll overpower him, Usyk isn’t small but Tyson makes him look small.

Karl, Malta: Tyson will out-punch Usyk given his height advantage and long Arms…A Knock out tonight!!!

Anonymous: Usyk will sleep fury tonight.

There is no doubting what Tyson Fury has achieved as a fighter, but his most recent battle with Francis Ngannou has some people doubting him tonight.

It’s fair to say, Fury was far from his best in October 2023 against the MMA heavyweight in Saudi Arabia.

His controversial split decision win over a fighter who was making his professional boxing debut means critics are wondering if he has what it takes to down Oleksandr Usyk.

I must admit, he looks in miles better condition going into this one. Being knocked down by Ngannou certainly whacked him into shape.

Can he prove some of his doubters wrong tonight?

Whatever happens tonight, Tyson Fury will walk away with a lot of money.

The Gypsy King will take home £81.5million from tonight’s fight, and that is guaranteed.

However, with the expected money expected to come in from pay-per-view, his earnings could rise above the £100 million mark.

That number means that the 35-year-old would soar up the Forbes ranking of the world’s highest-paid athletes.

Just like that, it was over.

Daniel Lapin barely had to break a sweat to become the new WBC Intercontinental Light-Heavyweight champion.

A flurry of punches, and the job was done. Lapin is certainly one to watch for the future.

They meet again!

Anthony Joshua and Cristiano Ronaldo are both greats in their respective sports, with the latter one of the greatest athletes of all time.

They will both be sat next to each other to watch tonight’s spectacular fight unravel, I’m sure Joshua will be able to talk Ronaldo through the tactics being deployed. I mean, he has first-hand knowledge…

They met two months ago the night that Joshua dramatically knocked out Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in what is now billed as ‘Knockout Chaos’.

I’m sure they will have lots to talk about, it would be interesting to listen in…

Well, that was very quick.

Blink and you’ll miss it. Daniel Lapin stops Octavio Pudivtr in the first round to become the new WBC Intercontinental Light-Heavyweight champion.

Lapin was really impressive there, he finished off Pudivtr with a flurry of punches and his final shot proved too much for the Portuguese light-heavyweight fighter.

Lapin has a bright future ahead of him, what a way to round off the prelims.

I have been having this debate with many people over the course of the past week.

Tonight is absolutely huge, it’s 25 years since we last saw an undisputed title fight. To put it in perspective, I wasn’t even born when Lennox Lewis Evander Holyfield faced off.

So, what do all of you think, is this the fight of the century?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Thank you, Tamara, for the lovely words.

Right, I’m not sure about you, but I am extremely excited for the night ahead. This fight has been a long time coming, and we are now under seven hours away from Tyson Fury and Okesandr Usyk trading punches.

I’ve put my seat belt on, I’m assuming you all have had yours on for the last four hours of build-up.

It’s going to be a rollercoaster of a night!

… but it’s time for me to hand over to the main card maestro, Harry Bamforth, to see you through the remainder of the build-up all the way to the night’s action – and the main event.

You’re in safe hands!

Ahmadi took Lowe the distance, but in the Briton was just too competent to allow him a route back into the fight.

John Fury is ringside to offer his congratulations to the close family friend, while both men get patched up. The first one has been a bloody one.

Fury vs Usyk isn’t the only draw this evening – and Jai Opetaia will be determined to put on a show against Mairis Breidis to bolster his credentials in pursuit of beating the best.

You can read the Australian fighter’s thoughts on the match-up, below.

• Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk (ringwalks 10.30pm, fight time 11pm)
• Jai Opetaia vs Mairis Breidis
• Joe Cordina vs Anthony Cacace
• Frank Sanchez vs Agit Kabayel
• Moses Itauma vs Iija Mezencev
• Mark Chamberlain vs Joshua Wahab
• Sergey Kovalev vs Robin Sirwan Safar
• David Nyika vs Michael Seitz

With Isaac Lowe up against Hasibullah Ahmadi in the night’s first encounter.

Lowe is looking particularly lively, and heading into round 8, the Briton steps it up a gear, rushing Ahmadi as his opponent starts to lose his legs.

The bell comes just in time, and the two fighters retreat to their corners. Lowe will be seeking the hammer blow.

One of the sport’s icons, Johnny Nelson, has gone through this clash with the finest of fine tooth combs, and offers his assessment on the merits and challenges both fighters will have to expect from one another.

But who comes out on top?

Why not find out for yourself, by scrolling through the piece below.

Neither Fury nor Usyk is going it alone – both are surrounded by important, impassioned teams that have seen them through the highs and lows of their careers, as well as their supportive wives.

You can read more about their family lives and associates, below.

There’s usually no skimping on star wattage when Saudi throws fight night, and a glimpse at tonight’s seating chance confirms it.

Having one of football’s biggest icons on payroll certainly doesn’t hurt if you’re looking for eyeballs, does it?

If that headline doesn’t tempt you in, what will?

Charlotte Daly sat down with one of boxing’s ever-presents – and Fury’s promoter – at the Queensbury offices in London before they jetted to Saudi Arabia for tonight’s clash. The result is an interview dripping with insight.

You can check it out, below.

The TNT Sports presenter has been a perenial fixture on boxing’s biggest nights for her broadcaster since making her move to the channel last summer, but Woods last night announced that she hasn’t travelled to Saudi Arabia… on the heels of suffering a painful-looking injury to her face and arms.

In her stead up steps Becky Ives, preparing to front coverage for the rights-holder for what will be arguably the biggest fight of this century to date.

So who is the presenter up to the task? You can find out more about her, below.

What makes a curse a curse?

Drake’s sportsbetting career was fallen under a dark star. There’s not an athlete or team in the world that would comfortably stand up and say, ‘yes, Drake, back me’, with the rapper having bet vast sums on a number of big games and either missed the mark entirely – ask Logan Paul about that one – or lost on a technicality, such as with the World Cup final in 2022.

That’s not to say that Drake hasn’t seen success, such as at this year’s Super Bowl. But can Fury’s form stand up to the hand of fate?

What makes a ‘people’s champion’? Can it be self-determined, or should a person’s actions speak for themselves.

Mail Sport columnist Riath Al-Samarrai mulls Fury’s checkered past in the build-up to his biggest-ever clash, below.

The heavyweight steps into the hotseat with Charlotte Daly to rate Fury in the most creative of ways.

Couldn’t help but giggle when Parker really worked to ensure he didn’t blink for Jake Paul.

Enjoy, below!

If you have been living under a rock this week and peeped out from under it for the first time to read Simon Jordan’s column, let’s recap: one Fury has already seen blood spilt this week.

That would be Fury Snr, never the shy and retiring type, and fired up enough to headbutt a member of Usyk’s team shortly in the lobby of the Riyadh Hilton Hotel.

Fury himself seemed amused – Usyk, less so. The Ukrainian even made a point of saying that he had kept his own fighters under wraps.

You can read more, and see more, around the fracas, below.

A number of Mail Sport’s columnists have weighed in (metaphorically) ahead of tonight’s clash, and first up is Simon Jordan, on the curiously compelling Mr Tyson Fury.

You can read his thoughts on this evening’s showdown, below.

In the form of an ultra-slick rundown of his life and career to date. From flat on the canvas to tallest in the world – it’s stirring stuff.

But does he, in his own (or the voiceover’s) words, have capacity to become the man? That remains to be seen.

In the build-up to tonight’s fight, Charlotte was invited into Usyk’s training camp ahead of the clash of his life.

This is an unmissable piece. Make sure you don’t, below.

Usyk’s Ukrainian heritage is central to his pride and performance in the ring – and that has only increased ten-fold since Russia’s invasion of his country in February 2022.

In another hat-tip to his heritage, the heavyweight turned up at yesterday’s weigh-in wearing a traditional Ukrainian vyshyvanka – a mere 24 hours after National Vyshyvanka Day, might I add – decorated with a pictured of war hero Oleksandr Matsievskyi. He was a soldier executed by Russian forces during the Battle of Bakhmut in December 2022.

To say that the Gypsy King is a divisive character is an understatement – Fury has slalomed through being loved and loathed, between being the object of sympathy or of derision, and being lionised or villainised, for almost all of his decorated career.

You can read more on the tumult and the heady highs and bitter lows in Fury’s story, below.

• October – ‘Battle of the Baddest’

Fury versus Ngannou. Seasoned veteran versus debutant. A walkover? Not quite. Ngannou nearly gave an underprepared Fury the scare of his life, dropping him to the canvas, and almost sneaking victory. The MMA star acquitted himself well – but it was the Gypsy King who took the first belt of Riyadh Season.

• December – ‘Day of Reckoning’

The first of the proposed Fury-Usyk dates, but when that was promptly delayed, it was Anthony Joshua’s time to get top billing – but not against co-headliner Deontay Wilder, as expected or desired. Instead, he made light work of Otto Wallin, and the Bronze Bomber was pulverised by Joseph Parker.

• March – ‘Knockout Chaos’

A quick turnaround for Joshua, this time going toe-to-toe with Ngannou. The Briton stopped the Cameroonian in stunning fashion, laying important groundwork for a long-awaiting meeting with Fury… if he can swipe all of Usyk’s belt, that is.

… That takes us all the way up to this evening – and there’s a mouthwatering Queensberry versus Matchroom card still to come.

… now have a listen to Evander’s!

Holyfield is next up ranking the greatest heavyweights of all-time, exclusively for Mail Sport.

Where does the time go? We’re now nearly eight hours off the estimated ringwalk time, so why not flick through a detailed run-through of our two would-be undisputed heavyweight champions?

No detail spared here – it’s Mail Sport’s Tale of the Tape, below.

If there’s one man who knows how the fighters will be feeling as they prepare for an undisputed heavyweight fight, it’s Evander Holyfield.

Charlotte Daly sat down with the boxing icon earlier this week, and you can watch – and read – her interview with the Real Deal below.

The contest is viewed by many as too close to call, but who better than Mail Sport’s Jeff Powell to read the tea leaves and try and attempt just that?

You can read the ultimate preview piece from Powell – ringside 25 years ago at the last undisputed clash – below.

Were we ever so young?

Flashback to 2019, when both were ringside for Artur Beterbiev’s knockout victory over Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

Usyk was still fighting cruiserweight when the friendly exchange took place – and five years later, prepares for the once-in-a-lifetime face-off.

Things are unlikely to be so friendly in Riyadh.

First staring one another down after Fury’s defeat of Chisora in 2022, the journey to Riyadh has been a long and winding one – with many boxing fans wondering at numerous points if a meeting would EVER take place between the two heavyweights.

First up was the scrapped Wembley fight, floated for March 2023, but set aside following a disagreement over the rematch clause in the fight’s terms.

After a Saudi intervention, a December date was then agreed – only for Fury’s tussle with Ngannou in October to fling a spanner in the works. Cue a rearrangement, and announcement for February 2024.

Or so we thought, until Fury picked up a nasty cut sparring in preparation. Breaks officially pumped.

So May 18 it is – or should be. In the words of Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk – ‘my confidence (in the fight happening) will grow higher when I hear the bell for the first round.’

One man that has a fair bit more insight than others is Derek Chisora, who has faced off with both Usyk and Fury.

But where does his allegiance lie this evening?

You can find out in his interview with Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly, below.

Over the past year, boxing fans have been treated to some of the greatest spectacles in the sport – in record time. Gone are the drawn-out squabbles between fighters and promoters, the endless back-and-forths: Saudi are making fights happen.

The Kingdom’s success at bringing the biggest contests to their shores sits Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi’s General Authority for Entertainment and an avid boxing fan. Armed with eye-watering financial rewards and unprecedented set-ups for big fights, Saudi’s offers have just about every top fighter scampering to their shores – much to the delight of the sport’s aficionados.

But who is the high-ranking government minister?

For more information, why not prime yourself with Mail Sport’s profile on Alalshikh ahead of tonight’s clash – you’ll be hearing his name a lot…

We’ve got a cornucopia of heavyweight rankings – and this one, by Mail Sport’s emminent boxing journalist Jeff Powell, is not to be missed.

When the dust settles, I wonder where he ranks tonight’s clash?

Until then, you can weigh up his reasoning for the top 11, below.

Game recognises game – do you agree with the Lion’s picks?

He sat down with Charlotte Daly in Riyadh to pass judgement, below.

One of his lowest career weights on Saturday night, Fury’s body transformation ahead of facing off with Usyk has been nothing short of remarkable – particularly in light of the place he was coming from.

You can find out more about the brutal work the Gypsy King has been putting in at the gym – and at the breakfast table – below.

Amir Khan! Ricky Hatton! Derek Chisora!

You may have decided who you’re backing tonight, but can a generous handful of boxing greats change your mind?

Why not check them out and see, below.

Both Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield are in Saudi Arabia to watch and see who will be crowned the next undisputed heavyweight champion, 25 years on from their two-bout tussle for supremacy in 1999.

But could this fight supply even half as much drama as all those years ago?

Mail Sport revisited the showdown in detail, which you can peruse at your leisure, below.

… and has been speaking to the great and the good of the boxing world in the build-up to tonight’s showpiece event.

Usyk’s proud compatriot Wladimir Klitschko has his say on the geopolitical significance on the fight, below.

Tyson being Tyson? Or a marked man with just over 24 hours to go?

Fans on social media ran their gimlet eyes over the weigh-in fracas and came out firmly on Team Usyk. A man of few words, composure is the Ukrainian’s modus operandi, and it didn’t take much for him to preserve ice cube status alongside the foul-mouthed Fury.

I don’t buy total psychological collapse, of course. But it’s always thrilling to see fire meet ice.

A slimmed down Tyson Fury proved that he hasn’t disappeared entirely, checking in at 262lbs.

But that’s still 39lbs more than his Ukrainian opponent, who hit his career-heaviest weight at 223lbs.

That, however, wasn’t what most people thought after Michael Buffer incorrectly called him at 233lbs – to many a raised eyebrow of faint approval – only for the weight to be corrected in viral footage…

You can see for yourself below.

After a cool, composed press conference the day before, things looked suspiciously poised for any fight build-up featuring one Tyson Fury. That is, until he reached his final face-off with Usyk.

The last time the pair attempted to lock eyes and stare one-another down, Fury had stared into the distance, prompting some to suggest he was rattled. Not so on Friday night, when the Gypsy King was more than happy to get up close and personal.

You can watch the tension boil over below, and read the full details of what exactly Fury is looking to do to the ‘little f*****’ tonight in our weigh-in report.

Saudi Arabia has played host to a number of boxing’s big nights in the past eight months since the inaugural Riyadh Season face-off between Fury and Francis Ngannou, but tonight’s showing simply blows the rest out of the water.

But what time do things get going, and who else could experience the fight of a lifetime? And if you wanted to watch the fight alongside tuning into our live coverage, where can you do it?

For this info and more, all will be revealed via the link below.

Hello and welcome to Mail Sport’s live coverage of all the build-up ahead of the big one: Tyson Fury’s showdown with Oleksandr Usyk to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

We’re some way off the history-making fight – ring walks are planned for about 11 hours from now, at 10.30pm BST, but that could well turn out to be pie-in-the-sky timing – but there’s a lot to catch up on between then and now.

Ready? Let’s go!