Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk Crosses “5.49 Billion” Milestone, Celebrates HE Turki Alalshikh

The Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk fight was big—nobody can deny that, but was it 5.49 billion impressions big? In a social media post, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, the man who put together the event, revealed the major achievement of the event dubbed ‘Ring of Fire’, celebrating the historic milestone. The main event fight itself was years in the making, having been canceled multiple times. 

So, when the fight finally happened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, its success was understandable! However, the astronomical global reach it has managed to achieve is still astonishing. Both unbeaten boxers met in the ring last weekend and after a bloody twelve-round battle between the Titans, Usyk bested his English counterpart via a split decision. Yet, who could have guessed the event would be this big? 

Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk: Making history in numbers!

The boxing world rejoiced as Oleksandr Usyk clinched the coveted title of the undisputed heavyweight champion, a feat not achieved since the legendary Lennox Lewis in 1999. Usyk now stands among the pantheon of greats, alongside names like Jack Dempsey, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson. In the wake of this historic victory, the Saudi royal wasted no time in extending congratulations to Usyk, recognizing the significance of his rare accomplishment in an era dominated by many big and powerful heavyweights.

His Excellency, while sharing an image celebrating the milestone, wrote, “Exceptional global reach.” As per a graphic shared in the X post, the event collected “5.49 billion impressions, 564 million views, 58 quotes, 102 million total engagement, 4 billion reach, 137 countries, 118K replies, 59 million reposts & likes, 218 K posts,” on social media. This comes up to a total of 5.49 billion impressions worldwide.

While the US has seen its fair share of crowd-drawing events over the past year, none seem to have captured the collective imagination quite like the recent showdown between Usyk and Fury. Everybody and their grandma were discussing the fight, speculating who would emerge victorious after the final bell. Yet, the question is, how did Saudi Arabia become the hotspot for boxing in such a short time?

Saudi Arabia’s rise as the new boxing capital 

Everything began with the efforts of the Saudis to draw foreign attention to the country, which resulted in a crossover boxing match between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou! They had earlier hosted the rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk in 2022. However, that was nowhere near the size of the recent events put together by Saudi Arabia. They might not have realized it, but that fight was a pivotal moment, at least for Tyson Fury! Despite being cast aside by everyone, Francis Ngannou nearly caused an upset by defeating Tyson Fury.

‘The Gypsy King’ was shamed as the fight gained more and more attention, inadvertently drawing eyes to oil-rich land, who paid the fighters from bottomless wells. Suddenly, every boxer wanted to fight there—if not for the publicity, then the trucks of money they could make. Using this momentum, Alashaikh organized the Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder event called the Day of Reckoning, all while proving that he is a true boxing fan!

And things seemed to be working, so next came the epic clash between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou. Joshua might have wrapped up the fight within two rounds, but it was just the appetizer for the undisputed clash in May, which, of course, went smoothly. The Kingdom now has the two biggest English promoters on their side and plenty of talent to work with. So, the takeover is likely to continue. Who knows? Maybe, they will dominate the US boxing scene as well, something they are already poised to do with the Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov event in LA this August. 

With that said, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh celebrated his brilliant idea to bring boxing to Saudi Arabia. Will the country continue to dominate? Looks like it! Nevertheless, it will always be remembered for the historic undisputed heavyweight fight, at least.

Do you agree? What do you think about the 5.49 billion milestone?