Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have both received a boxing suspension after their controversial rematch on Saturday (21 December).
The pair went head-to-head at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia following their previous boxing bout in May.
Their last fight saw Usyk hand Fury the first-ever defeat of his professional career, and the rematch had the same result.
The Ukrainian defeated the Gypsy King following a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the battle 116-112.
But no matter how much fans enjoyed watching the pair, they’ll have to wait a short while until they can see either of them in action again thanks to a suspension.
It’s not as bad as it sounds though, this kind of suspension isn’t as if the two men have been naughty at school and have to take some time off.
Instead, it’s simply down to the fact the board requires both boxers to rest for three days for every round fought in the match.
And as Fury and Usyk went the whole-hog and lasted the full 12 rounds on Saturday night, they’ll each have to rest for at least 24 days before getting back in the ring.
Both of the fighters will of course also been fully assessed by medical experts afterwards to make sure they hadn’t sustained any serious injuries.
The suspension could’ve been much longer if the fight had ended differently.
For example, if one of them had been defeated by technical knockout (when the referee decides they cannot safely carry on with the mach), they would have had to rest for a minimum of 30 days.
And if someone had lost by a good old clear knockout, they would’ve faced this kind of suspension for at least 60 days.
Following his defeat to Usyk, Fury cast a bit of doubt over when and if he will fight again.
“What’s next for me? I’m going home and having some time off,” he said to the press.
And when asked if we will get to see him stepping into the ring again, he continued: “You might do, you might not do. Who knows?
“We’ll talk about that next year.”
Ah, a man of few words.
Although, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has however hinted we could be seeing the Gypsy King in the ‘biggest fight probably in the history of British boxing’ at some point.
