It’s a surreal thing to watch the story unfold in real time before it has become a story. It was the experience of watching Tyson Fury And Alexander Ousykthe first confrontation, from the edge of the ring, as they vied for the right to be called undisputed heavyweight champion.

It was a title no man had held for 24 years – not since Lennox Lewis gave up one of his belts, a year after beating Evander Holyfield.

A year before Fury and Usyk shared the ring for the first time, on May 18, 2024, they seemed close to agreeing on a fight. Petty squabbles over money, when each man was already guaranteed a life-changing amount, delayed the fight. “Delayed” is the word we can use now; at the time, it seemed like the fight might have been lost forever.

It was then signed for fall 2023, to take place in February, but with Fury first facing Francis Ngannou – a former UFC champion, a boxing beginner. Despite the Cameroonian’s inexperience in the ring, Fury was dismissive of the decision to announce his fight with Usyk before he had even beaten Ngannou.

Fury was right to be wary but it was apparently a superstitious feeling; he had not distrusted Ngannou enough to train properly, it seems, as the mixed martial artist dropped Fury in the opening rounds – in one of the most shocking scenes in boxing history. This is not hyperbole.

Fury, 36, won a controversial decision to keep his clash with Usyk, 37, intact. Yet the February date could not be saved when Fury suffered a cut during the fightjust two weeks before fight night.

So when Fury vs Usyk was booked for May, expectations were tempered. It was hard to get excited. There is an old adage that a fight doesn’t start until both men are in the ring and the first bell rings.

And it was almost true on this occasion. For this writer, at least, the fight was “on” when the Kingdom Arena went black and Usyk’s music blared.

It was only then that the realization dawned, the reality: this was actually going to happen.

It had been a long day in the Riyadh arena and it was going to be a long night. Arriving around 3 p.m. local time, many of us didn’t drag our tired bodies into the Saudi sun and heat until 6 a.m. It’s a privilege to be present at the biggest fights, and none bigger than Fury vs Usyk 1, but the day was understandably energy draining and there had been little atmosphere to speak of during the ‘undercard.

However, it was worth it when Fury and Usyk finally emerged. The Ukrainian came out first, the unified champion walking in a green militaristic jacket with a fur hat adorned with feathers. “Cossack warriors, 17th century,” Usyk promoter Alex Krassyuk said of the outfit’s inspiration. “The head of state, who was himself a warrior, the leader, he wore that. If you look at some historical drawings of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a very important figure in Ukrainian history, this outfit was inspired by these leaders.

Usyk indeed looked like a general rushing towards the front line, relevant given the ongoing war between his country and Russiaas he wore a stern expression and was accompanied by intense accompaniment – tinged with an Eastern European flavor and resembling something from a fight scene in an action film.

In the ring, Lewis and Holyfield were already waiting for their successors: the last two men to fight for the undisputed heavyweight titles, welcoming the last two. An appropriate historical touch.

And then came Fury, with an altogether simpler outfit and entrance but fitting his charismatic character. Wearing a long, sleeveless green jacket and a backwards cap, the Brit jumped to the warm, deep tones of Barry White’s voice on “You Are The First, the Last, my Everything.” What seemed like a surprising and moving choice shouldn’t really have been surprising at all. Fury danced from the stage to the ramp, as the music changed to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For a Hero.” A wink to Shrek2? Who could say it?

Fury looked incredibly calm, considering the circumstances and the stakes, exuding a completely different aura than the one that would consume him in the ninth round, when Usyk came surprisingly close to finishing the WBC champion. Fury survived and this drama turned an already brilliant fight into an instant classic, won by Usyk on points.

And it may, of course, seem strange to have chosen the ring walks over the fight itself, when choosing a time of year. But the way the atmosphere changed when those lights went out, the way everyone’s emotions were brought to a sudden halt, gave goosebumps. Truly.

However, it is important not to overlook the political element of the event: natural concerns remain about Saudi Arabia’s aggressive involvement in boxing. Fights as large and exciting as this, and the theater surrounding them, surely serve the Gulf state’s overarching intentions. We should not emphasize the benefits of a rare night like May 18 while ignoring the negatives, which led to a sense of unease throughout fight week.

For a brief moment, however, as Fury and Usyk emerged for a battle two and a half decades in the making, these were not boxing’s new kingmakers. These were two warriors who gave their lives to a sport, took one last breath before fighting for the ultimate honor.