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Oleksandr Usyk vs. Murat Gassiev

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Oleksandr Usyk vs. Murat Gassiev
Date21 July 2018
VenueOlympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia
Title(s) on the lineWBC, WBA, IBF WBO, The Ring and TBRB undisputed cruiserweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Ukraine Oleksandr Usyk Russia Murat Gassiev
Nickname "The Cat" "Iron"
Hometown Simferopol, Ukraine Vladikavkaz, Russia
Pre-fight record 14–0 (11 KO) 26–0 (1) (20 KO)
Age 31 years, 6 months 24 years, 9 months
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 198+1⁄4 lb (90 kg) 198+1⁄4 lb (90 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBC and WBO
Cruiserweight Champion
The Ring/TBRB
No. 1 Ranked Cruiserweight
The Ring No. 10 ranked pound-for-pound fighter		 WBA and IBF
Cruiserweight Champion
The Ring/TBRB
No. 2 Ranked Cruiserweight
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]

Background

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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]

The fight

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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]

Aftermath

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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]

Undercard

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Confirmed bouts:[14]

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
Baltic & Nordic countries Viasat[15]
 Belgium VOO[16]
 Bulgaria Nova
 Canada Super Channel
 Germany SAT.1
 Russia Match! Boets[17]
 Singapore StarHub
Sub-Saharan Africa TVMS
 Turkey Tivibu Sports[18]
 United Kingdom ITV
 United States Audience[19]
 Ukraine Inter

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Murat Gassiev". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  2. ^ "World Boxing Super Series Cruiserweight Final to be held in Saudi Arabia - World Boxing Super Series". World Boxing Super Series. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Usyk Injured, WBSS Final With Murat Gassiev Postponed". BoxingScene.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Usyk-Gassiev WBSS title fight postponed". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Usyk vs. Gassiev To Land in Moscow on July 21, Says RBF Exec". BoxingScene.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Usyk vs. Gassiev Officially Announced For July 21, Moscow". BoxingScene.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Usyk vs. Gassiev a Hot Ticket in Moscow, 7,000 Sold in First Day". BoxingScene.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Usyk Dominates Gassiev To Unify WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF Titles". BoxingScene.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Usyk vs. Gassiev - CompuBox Punch Stats". BoxingScene.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk outclasses Murat Gassiev, wins World Boxing Super Series". Bad Left Hook. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Usyk routs Gassiev to become undisputed champ". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk calls out Tony Bellew after beating Murat Gassiev". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Usyk: If Bellew Won't Come Down - I'll Face Him at Heavyweight". BoxingScene.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  14. ^ "BoxRec - event".
  15. ^ "MTG will be the exclusive home of the World Boxing Super Series in the Nordic and Baltic regions". europawire.eu. EuropaWire. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  16. ^ "TV PARTNERS". worldboxingsuperseries.com. World Boxing Super Series. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  17. ^ Andrew Karlov (14 October 2017). "Groves vs Cox. Where to watch live". ringside24.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  18. ^ WBN Staff (9 September 2017). "WBSS agree further European media rights deals". worldboxingnews.net. World Boxing News. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  19. ^ Dan Rafael (28 September 2017). "World Boxing Super Series finds U.S. distribution for quarterfinals". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
Preceded by Oleksandr Usyk's bouts
21 July 2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Murat Gassiev's bouts
21 July 2018 		Succeeded by
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