Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s teams are currently in discussions over who should replace judge Fernando Barbosa, who fell ill and was unable to travel to Riyadh.
Steve Weisfeld was set to step in for the rematch tomorrow night, but according to Sky Sports, two judges are being considered.
Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, has reportedly suggested a simple coin toss to resolve the issue on the eve of the fight, which will be down to the Middle Eastern Professional Boxing Commission to solve.
Weisfeld, an experienced judge, has history with both Fury and Usyk. He had the Gypsy King ahead during his second and third bouts with Deontay Wilder before the Brit eventually beat the American on both occasions.
Weisfeld also scored Usyk’s initial fight with Anthony Joshua in the former’s favour in north London at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Meanwhile, Fury has promised to put unified heavyweight champion Usyk in the “hurt locker”. The usually talkative Brit has been rather quiet at promotional events this week, with the most notable moment coming during a 12-minute face-off when Fury began taunting Usyk who then responded, before they were separated.
“I’m going to dish out a whole lot of pain. I’m going to put this f***** in the hurt locker, for sure,” said Fury. “I’ve got nothing to say apart there’s going to be a whole lot of hurt and pain in this fight, you watch. Watch me go to work on this f*****.
“The talking has been done. The first fight I talked and joked. All of my career. This time I’m serious – I’m going to do some f*****g damage here on Saturday night.”
Fury’s approach to the build-up is very different to the first fight when he looked to unsettle the Ukrainian verbally and by towering over him at every available opportunity. However, that didn’t work as Usyk sealed his greatest career victory with a split decision win to add Fury’s WBC belt to his WBA, IBF and WBO titles.
And the 37-year-old promised a repeat performance. “Don’t be afraid. I will not leave you alone. See you on Saturday,” said Usyk, who was later stripped of the IBF title for refusing to take on mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois.
As Fury’s brother Tommy and wife Paris watched on from the crowd as the duo took part in their press duties, there was no sign of his dad John. Trainer SugarHill Steward revealed on Wednesday that Fury Sr would not be in his son’s corner for the second fight with himself, Andy Lee and a cutman making up the revised trio.
Fury’s corner were criticised in May following his defeat to Usyk, with Steward, Lee and Fury Sr all offering contradictory advice in between the later rounds.
It came after a controversial week for Fury Sr, who ended up bloodied after headbutting a member of Usyk’s team.
Fury had been fully focused on a training camp in Malta for seven weeks, not speaking to his wife Paris for three months to concentrate on avenging his only defeat. And his promoter Warren is confident he will win by knockout. “The first fight was magnificent. It was a great fight that had everything.
“It was a very close fight and there was a cigarette paper in the decision. These guys know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and this fight is going to be about who has the strength to exploit the weaknesses. I believe Tyson Fury will come through this and I don’t think the fight will go the distance.
“Tyson’s in great shape and in a great frame of mind. We’re going to get an extra special event – do not blink from the first bell.”
