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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Fight With Teddy Atlas Newsletter, your one-stop shop for all things combat sports, brought to you by Teddy and The Fight team.
Every Friday We Bring You:
A combat sports news digest with all the headlines you need to know from Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts.
Highlights from the podcast and across the fight world.
Fight times and information you need to know ahead of time.
Fight News From Around The 🌍
Still Got It
Vasily Lomachenko reminded us all why he will no doubt go down as one of the best boxers of the last few decades as he dropped and eventually stopped former champion George Kambosos Jr in the 11th round.
In doing so, he picked up the IBF lightweight title (interestingly the only sanctioning body he’s never held a title with before).
It’s only the first step towards his eventual goal of becoming an undisputed champion at 135 lbs, but as he comes towards the twilight years of his illustrious career, Loma can afford no slip-ups.
He barely put a foot wrong as he picked up a resounding victory against a spirited, but ultimately outmatched Kambosos Jr.
A showdown with the winner of Emanuel Navarette vs fellow Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk, who fight for the vacant WBO belt this weekend, could be the next logical step.
Should that come to pass and Loma become a unified champion at lightweight again, even tougher tests lie ahead in the form of the remaining lightweight title holders: Shakur Stevenson (WBC) and Gervonta Davis (WBA).
Loma has never been one to shy away from a challenge, but there’s no doubt that what could be his final few fights of a long, illustrious career could end up being his toughest.
There Can Only Be One
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will finally square off for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world on Saturday in Riyadh, with each man looking to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion the four-belt era.
For the first time in 25 years, the heavyweight division will get an undeniable, indisputable king.
They were originally meant to take place in February, but Fury sustained a deep cut in sparring, pushing the bout back several months.
Fury comes into it off the back off a close decision win over then boxing debutant Francis Ngannou, where he was dropped in the 3rd round. He recovered and won the fight, but questions remain as to whether any signs of his lacklustre performance that night will carry on into tomorrow.
Ngannou fight aside, Fury hasn’t heard the final bell in 4 of his last 5 wins, picking up stoppage wins against the likes of Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, alongside the famous KOs of Deontay Wilder.
The last time he went the distance before last year was against another southpaw in Otto Wallin, who opened up the troublesome cut above Fury’s right eye.
Usyk’s last fight also saw him get floored, in this case by Daniel Dubois. The knockdown was (controversially) ruled a low blow, with Usyk going on to eventual stop the young Englishman in 9 rounds back in August.
Like Fury, he also has two dominant wins against a high profile heavyweight, beating Anthony Joshua twice in the space of a year to establish himself as a real heavyweight champion.
If he is successful tomorrow, he’ll join an elite club of fighters (Terence Crawford, Naoya Inoue & Evander Holyfield) who have become undisputed champions in two weight classes.
It’s as close to a 50/50 as you can get at the highest level, and we’re expecting nothing short of a great fight as the two best heavyweights in the world finally square off to determine who is the undisputed best in the division.
Rest Of The Card
As has been the case since the Saudi’s entered Boxing, the undercard has not been neglected and has some great fights leading up to the main event, including 2 title fights and clash between two other undefeated heavyweights.
Watch The Fight Plan
Teddy & Ken break down tomorrow’s historic fight with another in depth fight plan, filmed at the Trinity Boxing Club in Lower Manhattan.
Watch to get the tactics, strategies and keys to victory for both fighters, as well as Teddy’s prediction.
Brought to you by our friends over at MyBookie.
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: Fury vs Usyk (Saturday 18th/Sunday 19th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 12pm Eastern/ 9am Pacific | Main Event: 6pm Eastern/ 3pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 5pm| Main Event: 11pm
🇦🇺 Full Card: 2am Eastern/ 12am Western | Main event: 8am Eastern/ 6am Western
MMA: Barboza vs Murphy (Saturday 18th/Sunday 19th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific | Main Event: 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 12am | Main Event: 2am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 9am Eastern/ 7am Western | Main event: 11am Eastern/ 9am Western