Oleksandr Usyk has defeated Tyson Fury by unanimous decision to retain his unified heavyweight titles.

The Ukrainian boxer was victorious over Fury for the second time in 2024 as the duo sweated it out at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the early hours of Sunday.

Usyk won the bout after all three judges scored it 116-112 in favour of the 37-year-old champion.

Usyk defeated Fury via split decision during their first face-off in May. The loss was the first of the British fighter’s professional career, and Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago.

The rematch went too similarly to the previous fight, with Usyk wearing down his bigger British opponents with the volume of his punches.

Fury’s determination was evident with the power behind his strikes. One of those struck Usyk in the first round and had the Ukrainian rocking for half a second.

Conversely, Usyk followed the game plan that had brought him success in the first fight between the two: plenty of body shots. As the lighter and smaller boxer, he used his advantage to pummel the Briton with speedy punches.

The Ukrainian only got more dominating as the rounds counted on, and Fury’s initial furore was waning. In the sixth round, Usyk landed an overhand left on Fury’s forehead.

The Briton replied in the following round, drawing a wince from Usyk with a sharp lefty hook. But Usyk sensed Fury’s uneasiness and pressed him continuously in the latter rounds.

The victory extends Usyk’s undefeated record to 23 wins in his professional career.

French former boxing world title holder Thierry Jacob has died at the age of 59, the mayor of his home city Calais announced on Friday.

Jacob took the WBC super bantamweight title in 1992, defeating Mexico’s Daniel Zaragoza in front of his local fans in Calais.

“We begin this day with sad news. Thierry Jacob died overnight, so young,” Natacha Bouchart, mayor of the northern port city, announced on Facebook.

Jacob turned professional in 1984, retiring a decade later with a 39-6 record, losing his WBC title at his first defence against American Tracy Harris Patterson in New York.

One of his sons, Romain Jacob, followed him into the ring, claiming the European super featherweight belt in 2014.

The National Sports Commission (NSC) has postponed the 22nd National Sports Festival to May 2025.

In a statement on Friday, NSC said the postponement was announced by the joint technical committee of the games after a meeting on Thursday.

The festival, tagged ‘2024 Gateway Games’, was initially scheduled to take place in Ogun from January 12 to 26, 2025.

The event has been rescheduled to be held from May 16 to 30, 2025.

NSC said the festival is postponed to “reflect the new direction of sports in the country and also provides more time for the implementation of recommendations made during the joint technical meeting”.

The zonal eliminations for team sports are scheduled to be held from February 23 to 28, 2025.

Bukola Olopade, director-general of NSC, said the extra months will help the commission prepare better for the sports festival.

He also announced the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA) initiative, adding that the “young promising athletes will compete as a 38th state” at the event “for the first time in the history of the Games”.

“This would also get the commission to settle down properly. We’re excited for the new date and the extra five months to put everything together and show the whole country what capacity is all about,” Olopade said.

“When you think about the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA) initiative, where young promising athletes will compete as a 38th state, it is a promising move towards fostering development of our best young talents and it’s happening for the first time in the history of the Games.

“It’s a strategy to empower young and promising talents and create a pathway for them to be exposed at the top level. These athletes will compete against established athletes, hoping to upset the status quo. It speaks to the core of what President Tinubu has asked of us to do.”