Fury vs Usyk live updates (2024)

• Time: Ringwalks expected between 11-11.30pm BST (6-6.30pm EDT)
• Watch: PPV available on DAZN, TNT, Sky (UK), DAZN, ESPN+ (US)
• Jai Opetaia vs Mairis Briedis pick of the undercard bouts
• Prediction: Fury the marginal favourite with the bookmakers
• Latest result: Agit Kabayel def Frank Sanchez via R7 TKO

Another good round from Anthony Cacace, after the momentum had perhaps just started to drift in Joe Cordina’s favour.

He lands a couple of really good short uppercuts, which sap away at Cordina’s energy. He then backs the Welshman up onto the ropes and throws a flurry of really nasty hooks.

Cordina works his way off the ropes but is rattled and Cacace peppers him with yet another series of uppercuts to the head! Cordina is wobbling … but the bell goes just in time for Cordina.

What a fight. This is truly in the balance.

It’s a marginally quieter round as both men recover from the exertions of the previous two. But both land hurtful shots: Anthony Cacace smashing through Joe Cordina’s guard with a big straight right, Cordina doing well at close-quarters, attacking Cacace with hooks.

The round ends in fairly ugly, but compelling, circ*mstances, with both men locked in the middle of the ring, trading in the pocket. And after the bell Cacace cannot resist getting in his opponent’s face, leering at him.

Anthony Cacace smells blood in the water here. He comes out aggressively but Joe Cordina already looks as though he has cleared his head. And the Welshman fights fire with fire, getting back to work behind his jab and potshotting Cacace as his opponent pads forward.

Has Cacace’s energy dipped? I think it has, slightly, and Cordina lands a stiff right down the pipe that will give him plenty of confidence. He’s back in the fight, that’s for sure, and even ends the round on top, catching Cacace with a beautiful right-hand counterpunch.

Good work from Anthony Cacace! He comes out quick and lands a body shot before going upstairs, landing on both occasions. And having landed he decides to replicate the attack, pulling off the same move moments later. It’s a good start, although he then gets a ticking off for landing a big left hand a fraction after the referee had told him to break.

Will that sap his momentum? Nope! But did that shot rock Joe Cordina? Yup! And then another left hand gets through Cordina’s guard and the Welshman is rocked! He’s desperately trying to hang on but is on very unsteady legs … and another big, clubbing left hook sends Cordina to the canvas!

He beats the count and is then quickly bundled over by Cacace. That’s not a knockdown. And it buys him some precious seconds.

Cacace has ten seconds to get him out of there. Cordina is bobbing and weaving furiously. And there goes the bell! Cordina somehow hangs on. Wow.

Joe Cordina’s hand speed really is something. He doubles up on the jab before throwing the right hand but Anthony Cacace is alive to the danger and is holding firm for now. Cacace has been more interested in taking his work downstairs but he is still waiting on landing his first truly significant shot.

Cordina ends the round on top, landing nasty hooks from both wings. Two eye-catching shots that the judges will have noticed.

Agit Kabayel threw 276 punches, landing 110, or 40%. Frank Sanchez, on the other hand, threw 176, landing just 47, or 26%.

Once again, stats courtesy of CompuBox.

• Frank Sanchez def Agit Kabayel via R7 TKO
• Moses Itauma def Ilija Mezencev via R2 KO
• Mark Chamberlain def Joshua Wahab via R1 KO
• Robin Sirawn Safar def Sergey Kovalev via UD
• David Nyika def Michael Seitz via R4 TKO
• Daniel Lapin def Octavio Pudivtr via R1 KO
• Isaac Lowe def Hasibullah Ahmadi via UD

And here’s what we have up next.

• Joe Cordina vs. Anthony Cacace; For the Cordina's IBF super featherweight title
• Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Briedis; For the vacant IBF cruiserweight title
• Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk: For the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight titles

British broadcaster Sky Sports have just interviewed Tyson Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, at ringside.

“I’m feeling privileged to be part of this historic event. The first time this century we’ve had a proper heavyweight unification fight, with two excellent fighters. I think we’re going to see something extra special.

“I think this is going to be one of those nights where you remember where you were when you watched this.”

A question from Ben K:

“So wtf does the whole final eliminator thing mean?”

A fair question! So, by winning, Agit Kabayel has earned the opportunity to fight for the WBC’s heavyweight world title.

But it isn’t quite as simple as that, obviously, because Tyson Fury is the WBC’s champion and he will likely fight Oleksandr Usyk not once, but twice.

Kabayel could decide to hang up his gloves for a while and hang around, waiting for his opportunity. Or he could take a fight (or fights) in the meantime, to keep busy.

He’s likely to face a long wait, though. Dillian Whyte was infamously the WBC’s number one-ranked heavyweight for 1,634 days before he got his crack at Fury.

Another tough interview for poor old Chris Mannix! Agit Kabayel tells him:

“I trained very hard for this opportunity. I saw he was not well conditioned and I could finish the fight. My coach predicted this fight and told me to go to the body and that the finish would be there. I train hard for every fight but now I am looking forward to going home to my family. Maybe in two weeks we can talk.”

Mannix pushes him on his next opponent. Kabayel is now owed a WBC title shot, but there’s a long queue and he might be better off taking a fight in the meantime to keep active.

“The fans will say. What they want I will do.”

Joseph Parker could be a good opponent. Kabayel adds that he sees Parker “as a friend” but, well, business is business.

What a good, gutsy performance from Agit Kabayel. What a strangely subdued performance from Frank Sanchez.

The Cuban’s professional record is no longer unblemished — 24-1. Kabayel, meanwhile, moves to 25-0 and he is now the mandatory challenger for the WBC heavyweight world title. He could be fighting Tyson Fury. He could be fighting Oleksandr Usyk. Or he could be fighting somebody else entirely. But he looks set for his first world title shot.

I might just start copying and pasting my round updates because not much has changed. Frank Sanchez has started every round with the hint of a pep in his step, before being backed up onto the ropes by Agit Kabayel and seemingly losing all interest in a professional boxing match.

Oh, here we go! Kabayel lands yet another body shot — a stiff right hand to the gut — and Sanchez has had enough! He sinks down onto one knee and takes the breather.

He recovers to beat the count, but only endures a few more seconds before a second body shot puts him back on the canvas.

He doesn’t want this … nope! He fails to beat the count and Agit Kabayel has defeated Frank Sanchez!

A great start from Agit Kabayel. His jab crashes through Frank Sanchez’s guard and he also lands with a well-timed right hook. Those were crisp.

He follows up those shots with a big overhand right and then gets in close, landing a couple of short right hands as Sanchez weaves around to no great avail.

I have Kabayel winning every round so far. We’re only halfway through this 12-round fight and I think Sanchez already requires a knockdown at the very least.

Agit Kabayel is looking really confident now and he’s continuing to walk Frank Sanchez down. Kabayel isn’t giving him a moment to breathe. Sanchez is still potshotting and holding. Surely he needs to change those tactics eventually?

Kabayel’s work is far from clean but he’s clearly setting the tempo and keeping busy. And this is another round in his favour.

The Sky Sports commentary team are speculating that Frank Sanchez is unhappy because he feels as though he was punched round the back of the head by Agit Kabayel. That could well be true — Kabayel is as scrappy as they come — but even if it is, he needs to deal with it and move on because he can’t afford to keep letting rounds drift.

Kabayel is looking increasingly comfortable in there. He lands another good combination of shots to the body and Sanchez is only interested in holding.