Veteran UFC commentator Joe Rogan wants to see a rematch after last night’s historic world heavyweight championship boxing match.
Oleksandr Usyk became the first ever undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era when he defeated Tyson Fury by split decision in their highly-anticipated Saudi Arabian showdown. It was the first time the division had been unified since the turn of the millennium, before the WBO title was recognised.
The former cruiserweight champion looked to be completely overwhelmed by Fury’s size in the early stages of the fight. But he turned it all around and even dropped his rival in the ninth round before winning on the scorecards.
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UFC Commentator Joe Rogan calls for Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk rematch
Renowned podcast host and announcer Rogan is a known fan of boxing at the highest level, and has previously had Fury as a guest on his show. He was one of the millions that tuned into watch the fight, and heaped praise on both men in the immediate aftermath.
Taking to Instagram, where he has over 19million followers, the voice of the UFC wrote: “What a fight! Congratulations to Oleksandr Usyk for winning the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the world!
“And huge props to Tyson Fury for not just surviving the ninth round but coming back strong. No one recovers from being rocked like Fury. He’s truly got the heart of a champion. I can’t wait for the rematch!”
Tyson Fury non-committal on Oleksandr Usyk rematch after heavyweight title fight
However, it seems that Fury may not be bullish on immediately organising another meeting with Usyk, despite feeling that he did enough to win the fight. The Brit seemed keen in the ring, declaring that they would be back out in October for their contractually obligated second bout.
But speaking at the post-fight press conference he seemed less sure about such a quick turnaround, having undergone three camps back-to-back-to-back. After facing Francis Ngannou in October, Fury immediately re-entered training to face Usyk in February.
However, with days to go until the Saudi Arabian showdown, he was cut in sparring and forced to reschedule the fight to last night. And he is eager to let go of boxing for a few weeks as he ponders his next steps.
“We’ve punched f*** out of each other for 12 rounds there,” Fury explained. “s”So we’re going to go home, eat some food, drink a few beers, spend some family time, walk my dog, go to the tip and me and Frank [Warren] are going to talk about what’s going to happen in the future.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I think I’d just do a little bit more of the same, keep my defence a little bit tighter, a bit more focused, and not so much messing around because I was having fun in there.
“I was playing around, I was hitting him to the body, uppercuts to the head and I thought I was bossing the fight.”