Drake loses $565,000 after betting on Tyson Fury to beat Oleksandr Usyk as rapper’s gambling ‘curse’ strikes again
Drake suffered another big-money gambling loss on Saturday night after the rapper bet $565,000 on Tyson Fury to beat Oleksandr Usyk.
The Ukrainian defeated Fury via split decision in Saudi Arabia to become the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years.
Usyk added Fury’s WBC title to his own WBA, IBF and WBO titles with a spectacular late rally highlighted by a ninth-round knockdown in a back-and-forth battle between two previously undefeated heavyweight champions.
But it was bad news for Drake, who took to Instagram earlier on Saturday to reveal that he had bet $565,000 on Fury to win. If Fury had won, Drake would have collected just over $1 million.
Fans on social media regularly joke that Drake is “cursed” as he has previously lost a six-figure sum following Anthony Joshua’s knockout win over Francis Ngannou, and another $700,000 after Dricus Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland at UFC 297.
Drake suffered another big-money gambling loss after betting $565,000 on Tyson Fury to win
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Fury via split decision to become the undisputed heavyweight champion
The martial arts enthusiast placed $565,000 (£462,396) on ‘The Gypsy King’ to win
He also lost $550,000 when Israel Adesanya suffered a shock defeat to Strickland in the octagon and had previously bet $890,000 on Logan Paul to beat Dillon Danis in the boxing ring.
Many thought the curse was broken when Drake bet $1 million on Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup final against France.
Although Lionel Messi and Co had the upper hand in Qatar, they won on penalties, meaning Drake’s bet that they would win inside 90 minutes was lost.
However, Drake has had success betting on the Super Bowl, racking up wins in basketball, baseball and hockey.
But his luck ran out on Saturday night, when two judges favored Usyk, 115-112 and 114-113, while the third gave it to Fury, 114-113.
Fury and Usyk are expected to enter the ring around 11pm UK time / 1am Saudi Arabia
Usyk started fast, but then had to survive while the confident, charismatic Fury dominated the middle rounds.
Usyk rose in the final rounds, just as the Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist has done so many times in his career. He took control with a dominant eighth and nearly stopped Fury in the ninth.
Usyk hurt Fury with a left hand and eventually sent him into a corner in the final seconds of the round, taking credit for a knockdown just before Fury was saved by the bell.
Fury struggled to land a consistent attack after almost being stopped, and the knockdown proved to be the deciding factor in the decision.
“Thank you so much to my team,” Usyk said as he fought back tears in the ring. “It’s a great opportunity for me, for my family, for my country. Slava Ukraine!’