- Usyk was the unanimous points winner for the second time after May’s fight
- But the Brit was dissatisfied and thinks he was the winner with ‘three laps’
- Tyson Fury is defeated AGAIN by Oleksandr Uysk: Follow Mail Sport’s live coverage here
Tyson Fury had a predictably inflammatory reaction to the way the artificial intelligence-powered judge scored him after defeat to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night.
Earlier this week it was announced that AI would play a key role in scoring the highly anticipated fight as part of a ‘groundbreaking experiment’ aimed at creating ‘history in the making’.
But the Gypsy King had little time for the groundbreaking innovation after losing by unanimous decision when he stepped into the ring with the Ukrainian for the second time this year.
When the Brit heard how the computers had assessed his efforts, Fury was less than impressed.
“F*** all the computers,” Fury said. ‘More jobs for people.’
Saudi fighting impresario Turki Alalshikh praised the launch of the pre-fight technology for “revolutionizing boxing” and talked about how “fair” the new system would prove.
Tyson Fury received a fiery response to the AI-powered judge’s score
The British fighter was once again knocked down by his Ukrainian counterpart in their hyped rematch
The AI judge – a ‘history-making’ choice by the event organizers – scored the fight 118-112 in Usyk’s favor
At the final bell in Riyadh, the AI judge ruled that Usyk had won the fight 118-112, with Usyk taking the third, fourth and sixth through eleventh rounds.
Fury was the winner in the second and fifth rounds by the AI measure, with the fighters tied at the start and finish.
The three human judges all scored 116-112 in favor of Usyk, allowing the southpaw to retain undisputed status for the first time in May.
But when asked about his thoughts on the scorecards in the immediate aftermath of the clash, Fury seemed to believe a different view.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the fight, he said: ‘I swear to God, I thought I won by three rounds!’
Speaking to ESPN, he added: ”I thought I had won the fight again, I was Larry Holmesed again. I was on the front foot the whole time. If you don’t get the knockout, this could happen.”
On the canvas, Usyk appeared stunned after the fight when asked if he thought he deserved to have his hand raised.
“I win,” Usyk said simply, before later being called out by heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.
Outside Riyadh, Anthony Joshua was widely pilloried for his own scorecard, which made the fight 115-14 to Usyk.
The 35-year-old had given Fury five rounds of the contest and Usyk six, deciding the final round would be a draw.
In the immediate aftermath of the clash, Fury thought he was the winner ‘by three rounds’
But after Usyk’s hand was raised, the Brit hurriedly left the ring, away from the crowd
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren was also disappointed with the way the fight was scored by both human and non-human judges.
Fans attending were left wondering which fight Joshua was watching, with one claiming the star was still ‘dizzy’ after his knockout loss to Dubois in September.
Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, also said he was ‘stunned’ by the judges’ decision.
“They gave him four out of 12 rounds, which is impossible,” Warren said. “I’ve been competing for a long time and I know I’m biased, but one judge didn’t give him any more rounds from round six.
‘How is that possible? That’s impossible. It’s crazy. I’m calm and collected, I don’t yell or scream, but that’s nonsense.’