In a hard-fought 12 rounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 18, Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury by a split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999, and the first ever from Ukraine.
In the first eight rounds of the fight, it was pretty balanced, with both men picking up rounds as they fought for heavyweight glory.
It wasn’t until the ninth round that Oleksandr Usyk visibly staggered Fury and started to take control of the fight.
Fury vs Usyk PPV Buys and Gate
Fury-Usyk reportedly generated upwards of $50 million in pay-per-view revenue from 1.5-million-plus PPV buys with the majority being from the UK, according to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger.
The host broadcaster for the event was DAZN PPV worldwide with Sky Sports Box Office and TNT Sports Box Office also offering the PPV in the UK and ESPN + doing the same in the US.
KSI vs Tommy Fury reportedly generated 1.3m PPV buys worldwide which Fury-Usyk slightly surpassed.
Coppinger reports that the event also made $40 million in sponsorship and another $3 million-plus from the gate (ticket sales).
Total costs for the event were $120m combined with ~93m revenue coming in.
