In a fiery response to his defeat in the heavyweight title rematch, Tyson Fury blasted that Oleksandr Usyk received an early Christmas present. An incensed Fury departed the ring without indulging in the customary post-fight interview after digesting the judges’ scoring of his loss to the Ukrainian champion.

The closely contested bout concluded with Usyk keeping his WBC, WBA and WBO titles, with 116-112 scorecards favoring him across the board. Fury vented his frustration backstage, asserting: “Honestly, I thought I won by three rounds”.

Despite various opinions on whether Fury or Usyk triumphed, including from an AI judge, the official judges harshly scored against Fury’s performance during the latter half. Judge ‘Jerry’ Martinez awarded Fury three of the first five rounds but then assigned the following six straight to Usyk, save for the final round which went to the Gypsy King.

Patrick Morley started by giving Fury four of the initial five rounds, yet sided with the champion for the next seven. The third judge, Ignacio Robles, only gave Fury one of the last seven rounds, despite initially having him ahead after five.

Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, expressed his outrage over the scoring that he found utterly unbelievable. “It’s impossible,” Warren declared.

“How did Tyson only get four rounds in this fight? Everyone across the front all thought the same way. It’s nuts. Did you only give him four rounds. Nuts. I don’t get it. Really disappointed with that.

“I thought Tyson was in control. Thought he boxed extremely well. One judge didn’t give him any round from round six onwards. How can that be? Same with the other judge here. He gave him one round of the last six. It’s crazy. A nonsense.

“Oscar de le Hoya and I had him [Fury] winning by three or four rounds. What fight were they watching? You lose you lose, that’s fair enough. But come on. It’s nuts.

“It was a good boxing performance by him. He used all his physical attributes. He stayed focused. I mean, come on, count the jabs. All you want is a level playing field and a fair crack of the whip. But that scoring is not good whatsoever.”

Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury again

Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury again ( 

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Getty Images)

In his post-fight press conference, Fury openly condemned both the decision and the AI scorecard used for the fight by Turki Alalshikh, which favored the champion 118-112. A livid Fury remarked: “I thought I won the fight again, I was Larry Holmesed again. I was on the front foot the entire time. When you don’t get the knockout, this is what can happen.”

Fury bluntly dismissed the AI scorecard’s validity: “Computers can f*** off” was his retort upon hearing the AI’s verdict.

During his reflections on facing Tyson Fury, Usyk didn’t hold back his admiration, declaring: “He is a great fighter, he is a great opponent. An unbelievable 24 rounds for my career. Thank you so much.”