Fury’s Strong Claim of Victory

In a heated post-fight reaction, Tyson Fury expressed his strong belief that he defeated Oleksandr Usyk by at least three rounds in their high-stakes rematch on Saturday at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Despite the official result declaring Usyk the winner by unanimous decision—116-112 on all cards—Fury remains adamant about his performance.

"I swear to God, I thought I won it by at least three rounds," Fury told former trainer Ben Davison, emphasizing that he controlled the fight from the start. "I bossed the fight on my front foot."

Controversy Over Scoring

The rematch sought to unify the WBA, WBC, and WBO heavyweight titles but ended with Fury lamenting what he termed as an "early Christmas present" for Usyk as he criticized the judges' scoring. Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua had a slightly closer score of 115-114 in favor of Usyk, while an unofficial judge, the AI scoring system trialed by Turki Alalshikh, had Usyk winning by an even wider margin of 118-112, something Fury didn't shy away from voicing his disdain about.

Fury was incredulous about the AI's involvement, declaring, "Absolutely sh**. F*** all the computers, keep the humans going." This reaction reflects the overarching sentiment among purists in the sport who argue that human judgment is irreplaceable in boxing.

Fury’s Sportsmanship Amidst Discontent

Despite feeling unjustly treated, Fury maintained a level of sportsmanship, stating, "I can just fight my heart out and do the best I can." He also referenced the disparity between the scoring by analysts and promoters, where notable figures like Frank Warren, Oscar De La Hoya, and Bob Arum seemed to side with Fury, indicating he was ahead in the fight.

Though he acknowledged the official results—leaving him with two losses against Usyk—he asserted that his track record of performances must be weighed beyond just the outcomes. "I’ll always believe until the day I die, I won that fight. I was on the front foot all night, landing body and head," he reiterated, opening up a conversation about subjectivity in boxing judgments.

The Future of Judging in Boxing

Fury’s sentiments about the artificial intelligence judging experiment and his insistence on the human aspect of boxing have sparked discussions about the future of judging in the sport. Will referee commissions consider integrating technology, or will they heed Fury's call to keep human judges at the forefront? Only time will tell, especially in a sport where every round can be a deciding factor between glory and defeat.