Biggest takeaways from Usyk's thrilling win over Fury

The first undisputed heavyweight title fight in 25 years has come and gone.

Oleksandr Usyk emerged victorious Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, flooring Tyson Fury in the ninth round en route to a split-decision victory that cemented the Ukrainian as the No. 1 heavyweight in boxing.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the fight:

Fury-Usyk somehow exceeded expectations

Any boxing fan will tell you Usyk-Fury was the most significant heavyweight fight of the 21st century - and perhaps the most significant fight period since Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao in 2015. Although Usyk-Fury didn't garner the mainstream attention that some boxing matches do, within the combat sports world, it doesn't get any bigger than what we saw unfold in Riyadh.

And yet, the fight somehow managed to exceed its lofty expectations.

It was an instant classic between the two consensus best heavyweights in the world and will likely be on some Fight of the Year lists in December. The several momentum shifts are what made it so entertaining and dramatic. Usyk took an early lead, Fury was in full control at the halfway point of the fight, and then Usyk rallied in the last handful of rounds - punctuated by his ninth-round knockdown - to eke it out on two of three judges' scorecards. Usyk felt like the rightful winner after 36 minutes of action, but you'd be lying if you said you were confident Usyk was going to get his hand raised - that's how close it was.

The twists and turns we got from Usyk-Fury are exactly what you want out of a heavyweight title fight of this magnitude. Bravo, gentlemen. It couldn't have gone much better.

Usyk winning makes the rematch even bigger

Had Fury beaten Usyk, an immediate rematch might've felt a tad unnecessary, especially with a potential blockbuster fight against Anthony Joshua - which everyone has wanted to see for years - looming. Fury was only a small betting favorite against Usyk - it was a close fight on paper - but he was the No. 1 heavyweight, the lineal champ, and the A-side in terms of drawing power. Usyk, at least how some people viewed it, was just a roadblock in finally making Fury-Joshua happen.

Of course, Usyk and Fury were going to fight for a second time in 2024 regardless of who won Saturday. They signed a two-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, with an immediate rematch already being planned for Oct. 12 in Riyadh.

But the fact Usyk came out on top - as well as the fact it was an exciting fight - makes the rematch much bigger than it would've been had Fury won, and perhaps even bigger than the first bout. Boxing fans will want to tune in and see if "The Gypsy King" can avenge the first loss of his professional career, regain the heavyweight throne, and save the Joshua fight, or if Usyk is simply better and can further cement himself as the top heavyweight. After how things went down Saturday, Usyk-Fury 2 will be one of the most anticipated fights of the second half of the year.

Usyk deserves consideration for No. 1 pound-for-pound

Usyk may not surpass Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, but he's at least in the conversation after beating Fury.

Usyk is the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000 and the first of the four-belt era. Usyk also joined Crawford and Inoue as the only three fighters who have won undisputed titles in two weight classes during the four-belt era (Crawford and Inoue both achieved the feat last year). Usyk captured the undisputed cruiserweight belt in 2018 and has run rampant through the heavyweight division since moving up in 2019, beating Joshua twice, defending his titles against Daniel Dubois, and now unifying the division against Fury.

Usyk, 37, has done all of this while maintaining an undefeated record, going into mega fights as the underdog time and time again and prevailing victorious. Even Crawford, widely considered to be No. 1 pound-for-pound, thinks there's a case to be made for Usyk:

Usyk doesn't get the same kind of attention as Canelo Álvarez, Fury, or Ryan Garcia, but there's no doubt that his pound-for-pound accomplishments stack up against anyone's.