'I saw Tyson Fury defeated by Oleksandr Usyk and one thing stood out'

Oleksandr Usyk has been officially crowned the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world after getting the better of Britain's Tyson Fury by a narrow split decision.

The biggest fight of the 21st century - and perhaps even beyond - had a packed-out Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia bare witness to something that has not been done in 25 years. Usyk has immortalised his name in gold, having now united the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight belts of global boxing.

Some anticipation for tonight's event came from the stellar duo involved. The rest came from a convoluted build-up spanning the best part of 18 months, as two entourages disappointingly failed to agree terms thus allowing other fights to take place, then eventually an accord was reached much to the delight of fans. Fury v Usyk even stood the test of postponement, but they managed to get to the ring in the end.

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And so, from the first bell the Ukrainian sought make sure his opponent endured a much more difficult night then the Brits that preceded. Both Mark Chamberlain and Moses Ituama had stormed to impressive victories in their respective undercard events.

Usyk undoubtedly took the opening rounds. Despite his smaller frame and shorter reach by seven clear inches, it was he that landed a series of body shots before connecting with the Wythenshawe boxer's right cheek. In typical fashion, the Gypsy King played it off to the onlooking crowd.

Still relentless, Usyk again struck Fury with another powerful blow in the second - this time to a less cheerful reaction. This is the fight the world had been waiting for, and that left hook was the star of the show.

However, Fury lived up to the pre-fight predictions as the fighter with the physical edge and proceeded to dominate the following three rounds. Finding his rhythm and range, he entered a comfortable mindset of comfort on both the front and back foot. The Cat was left with a coincidental cut above his right eye exiting the fourth.

A clean uppercut in the sixth cemented the Englishman's mid-match control. "Use that more," was the loud and clear message from John Fury in the 6'6" boxer's corner - advice that fell by the wayside.

Usyk required a serious response to stand a chance of maintaining his impressive record, and by the end of the eighth the outlook was entirely different once again. The older fighter's combinations were landing to the face of Fury, who looked in visible discomfort as blood poured from his nose and bruising began to swell around that problematic right eye which saw February's date cancelled.

Come the ninth, Fury was barely holding on. That left arm of Usyk was dishing out a battering unlike anything experienced in the Gypsy King's career, and the count rose as high as seven whilst he was on the ropes before managing to regain his stance, just. The bell went, much to the Eastern European's chagrin.

The sheer size of Fury allowed him to weather the punches of his opponent through to the 11th - the spring spring back in his step and recovering from his beatdown. In the opposite corner, Usyk's technical ability reigned supreme, albeit with diminishing energy.

One final round remained, but with traded blows to close out a spectacle over a year in the making, the thoughts of the judges Manuel Oliver Palermo of Spain, Canada's Craig Metcalfe and American Mike Fitzgerald were still anybody's best guess.

No sooner than the final bell rang, respect was shown between the two greats. Then came the scorecards, with the Palermo ruling 115-112 in Uysk's favour, Metcalfe scored 114-113 on Fury's side, and finally Fitzgerald's 114-113 verdict on the Ukrainian's side confirmed the destination of the unified belts.

For those left-handed strikes alone, a narrow but deserved outcome for Usyk. Granted Fury had controlled for a period, but he has never been on the receiving end of harder hits tonight than those he felt in any of his prior 34 contests.

Referee Mark Nelson did superbly to not call the fight in the ninth round when Fury wobbled, and ultimately the Brit - who wants their rematch clause acted upon - didn't have enough to land as cleaner hits as his technically-gifted opponent.