Oleksandr Usyk is the king of modern heavyweights and has left in his slipstream the ruins of every giant boxer he has faced in the ring.

On Saturday evening in Riyadh, Usyk fought to a standstill again in a grueling clash with Tyson Fury. It was their rematch and it was personal and brilliant.

At the end of 12 rounds, Usyk won a strangely large unanimous decision to retain his championship belts and his crown as king of the heavyweights. The three identical scores of 116-112, meaning Usyk won eight and Fury only won four of the completed rounds, were tough on Fury, but the right man had his hands raised.

Usyk once again had to find a way to overcome disadvantages of size, reach and weight to win; Fury was about five inches taller and 55 pounds heavier. Usyk has mastered the art of beating big men using his feet, his timing and ultimately his will to win.

By the end, as Usyk fell to his knees in prayer and Fury leaned down to kiss his great opponent’s head, both men had scars and bruises from the fight. Usyk’s face was swollen and red, but his ice-cold gaze remained. It’s not easy being king in the land of giants, but Usyk has found a way.

Fury never put a foot wrong, but was beaten too often and found once again that Usyk had an answer to all of his usual tricks.

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Fury was never quite able to use the extra weight to push Usyk around, never quite able to set Usyk up for a sickening uppercut, which was the blow that hurt Usyk in their first fight in May. And Fury was smarter, never hurt or in danger of being stopped like he was in their first fight. It was actually masterful from both sides.

Fury left the ring convinced he had won by a few rounds and his promoter Frank Warren was furious at the one-sided results. “It’s unbelievable,” he said ringside. “How can you only give Tyson four rounds? This is ridiculous.” There were no cries of “robbery” though, which was a relief because the word is bandied about every week or so whenever a fight lasts twelve rounds. It was a tough fight at all times and Usyk knew enough to win the close rounds.

As expected, Usyk finished stronger and won many rounds in the second half of the fight; A judge gave Usyk each of the final six rounds, much to Warren’s dismay. Fury may have slowed down, but the 19 pounds of extra flesh he had gained since their first fight never threatened to break him down. He looked tall, not slow.

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Usyk, who turns 38 next month, has proven once again that skill is still king in the boxing business. Fury tried many different tactics, using a good jab and throwing booming right crosses, but each time Usyk adjusted, moving his feet, moving his head and countering or attacking from a different position. It’s boring to call it physical chess, but it was calculated and gripping.

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They all have big decisions to make next year and a third fight cannot be ruled out. Another option for both is Daniel Dubois, the IBF champion who showed up at the end to ask Usyk for a rematch; Usyk dropped Dubois last year and stopped him. Usyk lost the IBF title outside the ring but retained his WBC, WBO and WBA belts against Fury.

The harsh truth is that both Fury and Usyk showed signs in the fight that their careers were inevitably coming to an end and that their final days in the distant neon lights of history are not too far away. Each of them has given so much throughout their lives to the boxing ring and all of its beauty, riches and cruelty.

Now they all have to choose the right exit strategy from a sport that has never cared about reputation or past glory. We must never allow them to become shells, names for hire in the bloody game and watch them end up as emaciated heroes; There are too many of them in the gathered and invited crowd at all the fighting in Riyadh.

Usyk can certainly continue to defy the unwritten rules of boxing and kill more giants for a while longer; Fury must make tougher decisions as he battles against time. The truth is that neither of them needs to fight again to prove anything; The problem is that all fighters, especially at this level, still feel like they have something to prove.