Oleksandr Usyk claims that his second fight with Tyson Fury was easier than the first following complaints about the judges’ scorecards in Saudi Arabia.
All three officials at ringside gave Fury only four rounds, awarding Usyk a relatively comfortable unanimous decision victory along with the split decision win he earned at the same arena in Riyadh seven months prior.
Fury shook his head when the verdict confirmed Usyk as the winner, and the reigning WBA, WBC, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion. In his post-fight press conference, the Brit said: “I felt a little bit of Christmas spirit in there and I think he got a little Christmas gift from them judges.”
There has been no shortage of respect between the fighters, who are two of the top heavyweights in the current era, but Usyk was having none of Fury’s ‘Christmas gift’ talk.
“Tyson talks a lot and it just shows,” he said. “I really respect Tyson Fury. If Tyson says it was a Christmas gift… Ok. Thank you God. Not Tyson. Thank you God. Thank you to my coaches and my team. Ok, no problem. I win. The fight was not easy but it was easier [than the first fight].”
Fury stamped his authority on the early rounds of Saturday night’s contest, before the relentless pressure and pace of Usyk began to turn the dial.
The Gypsy King, 36, was told to ‘give it everything he had’ in the final round but he was unable to land anything decisive on his unbeaten opponent. Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, also kicked up a fuss about the judges’ verdict.
“How come Tyson only got four rounds in this fight? It’s impossible,” he said in the ring. “He’s very disappointed as I am as well. Everyone along the front [of the ring] thought it was all the same way.”
Aside from a draw with Deontay Wilder in 2018, Fury’s record was unblemished until May, but it now shows two defeats. Usyk has improved to 23-0, and former cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson believes he was right to be named the winner in Riyadh.
“Frank was saying he thought Tyson won – that’s being a promoter,” he told Sky Sports. “There’s no way in a million years he thought Tyson won. The best man won on the night and got the job done.”
