 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | 21 July 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBC, WBA, IBF WBO, The Ring and TBRB undisputed cruiserweight titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Usyk defeats Gassiev via UD (120–108, 119–109, 119–109) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Murat Gassiev was a professional boxing match contested on 21 July 2018, for the undisputed cruiserweight championship. [1]
Initially, the WBSS final was scheduled for 11 May 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, [2] however the secretary general of the Russian Boxing Federation, Umar Kremlev, stated that he would push forward in order to outbid Saudi Arabia and have the final of the tournament take place in Russia.
On 16 April, it was reported that Usyk had suffered an elbow injury during training, pushing the final to possibly June or July. [3] [4] On 18 June, at a press conference, Kremlev announced the final would take place on 21 July at the Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia. [5] On 29 June, the final was officially confirmed. [6] On the release date, 7,000 tickets were sold. [7]
Usyk quickly took control of the fight, moving rapidly and using his jab, while not allowing Gassiev to use his power. Gassiev did not land a solid punch until the end of round 2. Usyk outclassed, outboxed, and dominated Gassiev.
The result was never in question as after 12 rounds Usyk was declared the winner by unanimous decision, with the judges’ scorecards reading 120–108, 119–109, and 119–109. [8] Usyk's dominance was reflected in the punch stats, as CompuBox recorded him landing 252 of 939 thrown punches (27%), compared to Gassiev's 91 landed of 313 thrown (29%). Usyk used his superior conditioning to finish the fight, increasing his output by landing 47 of 117 punches thrown in round 12. Usyk managed to withstand the 32 power body shots he received and continued to move around the ring. [9]
Muhammad Ali's widow, Lonnie Ali, presented the trophy to Usyk. After the fight both combatants embraced, with Gassiev saying "I had the best opponent of my professional career ... today is Oleksandr's day". Usyk added "My team made me look like I looked in the ring. This is our victory". The win made Usyk the first ever four-belt undisputed cruiserweight champion. [10] [11]
When asked whom he would like to fight next, Usyk said, "At this time I have heard that Tony Bellew wants to fight the winner of the Muhammad Ali Trophy. I hope he will see me talking.... 'hey Tony Bellew, are you ready?' If he doesn't want to go down [in weight], I will go up [in weight] for him. I will eat more spaghetti for my dinner!" Also after the fight Usyk said: "Olympic [stadium], thanks. People, countrymen and those who supported. Moscow 2018. Bang! Daddy's in the building!". [12] [13]
Confirmed bouts: [14]
Olympic Stadium was an indoor arena located in Moscow, Russia. It was built for the 1980 Summer Olympics and, divided into two separated halls, hosted the basketball and boxing events. It was closed in March 2019, and was subsequently demolished in 2020 for the construction of a new complex.
Muamer Hukić, best known as Marco Huck, is a Bosniak German professional boxer. He held the WBO cruiserweight title from 2009 to 2015, and is the joint-longest reigning cruiserweight world champion of all time, having made thirteen consecutive successful defenses, a division record shared with Johnny Nelson. Huck also held the IBO cruiserweight title from 2016 to 2017, the European cruiserweight title from 2008 to 2009, and has challenged once for the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title in 2012.
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the undisputed championship in two weight classes, at cruiserweight and heavyweight, and reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from May to June 2024. He has also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title since 2021, and the Ring magazine title since 2022.
Anthony Lewis Bellew is an English former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2018, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held the WBC cruiserweight title from 2016 to 2017. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles between 2010 and 2014, the European cruiserweight title from 2015 to 2016. As an amateur, he is a three-time ABA heavyweight champion. He portrayed antagonist boxer Ricky Conlan in the films Creed and Creed III.
Yuniel Dorticós Pao is a Cuban professional boxer. He is a former cruiserweight world champion, having held the WBA (Regular) title from 2017 to 2018 and the IBF title from 2019 to 2020.
Denis Aleksandrovich Lebedev is a Russian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He was a unified world cruiserweight champion, having held the WBA title from 2012 to 2018, and the IBF title in 2016.
King Abdullah Sports City, also nicknamed The Shining Jewel or simply The Jewel, is a multi-use stadium and sports city located 30 kilometers north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The city was named after Abdullah, King of Saudi Arabia when the stadium opened.
Krzysztof Głowacki is a Polish professional boxer who has held the WBO junior-heavyweight title twice; from 2015 to 2016 and again in 2019. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division at the 2008 EU Championships.
Mairis Briedis is a Latvian former professional boxer who competed from 2009 to 2024. He was a three-time cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF and Ring titles from 2020 to 2022; the WBC title from 2017 to 2018; and the WBO title in 2019. Upon winning the WBC title in 2017, he became the first Latvian to hold a world boxing title. He was awarded the Order of the Three Stars in 2017.
Murat Georgievich Gassiev is a Russian former unified cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2016 to 2018, and the WBA (Unified) title in 2018.
The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is a professional boxing tournament organised by Comosa AG.
The 2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – cruiserweight division was a World Boxing Super Series professional boxing tournament that took place between September 2017 and July 2018 in several countries. The Super Series featured eight top-rated cruiserweight boxers in a single-elimination tournament. Its winner will hold world titles for all four of boxing's major sanctioning bodies, The Ring Magazine title, as well as the Muhammad Ali trophy. The tournament was organized by Comosa AG. A super middleweight tournament was held concurrently, with prize money for both competitions totalling US$50 million.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Marco Huck was a professional boxing match contested on 9 September 2017, for the WBO Cruiserweight championship.
Murat Gassiev vs. Krzysztof Włodarczyk was a professional boxing match contested on October 21, 2017, for the IBF cruiserweight championship.
Yunier Dorticos vs. Dmitry Kudryashov was a professional boxing match contested on September 23, 2017, for the WBA (Regular) cruiserweight championship.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk, billed as The Perfect Storm, was a professional boxing match that was contested between WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, and former undisputed cruiserweight champion and the WBO's heavyweight mandatory challenger, Oleksandr Usyk. The bout took place on 25 September 2021 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Usyk winning by unanimous decision.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Derek Chisora, billed as Fright Night, was a professional boxing match contested between former undisputed cruiserweight champion and the WBO's heavyweight mandatory challenger, Oleksandr Usyk, and WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight champion, Derek Chisora. The bout took place on 31 October 2020 at The SSE Arena, with Usyk winning by unanimous decision.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis was a professional boxing match contested on 27 January 2018, for the WBC and WBO cruiserweight championship.
Murat Gassiev vs. Yuniel Dorticos was a professional boxing match contested on 3 February 2018, for the WBA and IBF cruiserweight championship.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew, billed as He Who Dares was a professional boxing match contested on 10 November 2018, for the undisputed cruiserweight championship.
