‘Judges gave Usyk Christmas gift’ – Fury reacts to loss

Tyson Fury refused to accept he lost his rematch against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and claimed the judges gave his opponent a “Christmas gift”.

All three judges scored the fight 116-112 in Usyk’s favour, handing the Ukrainian a second successive win over Fury.

Fury and his promoter Frank Warren were both adamant the Briton had done enough to win the contest in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“The judges gave him a Christmas gift,” Fury said. “I feel like I won both fights.

“I know I had to knock him out but it’s boxing and this happens. There is no doubt in my mind I won this fight.

“Frank [Warren] had me three or four rounds up and a lot of people had me up by at least two.”

Fury, 36, did not answer any questions in the ring after the bout, choosing to head backstage where he eventually spoke to the media.

“I’m not going to cry over spilled milk, it’s over now.” Fury added.

“I’ve been in boxing my whole life but I’ll always feel a little bit hard done by – not a little bit, a lot.”

Queensberry’s Warren made clear his frustration with the result in the ring and continued to make his case for a Fury win afterwards.

“I’m dumbfounded at how they [judges] scored it,” Warren said.

“His jabbing was superb, his footwork was superb, he wasn’t slow. He was very evasive.”

Victory for Usyk extends his unblemished record to 23 victories and further strengthens his claim as one of the greatest of this generation.

“Uncle Frank, I think he is blind,” Usyk said.

“If Tyson says it is a Christmas gift then OK, thank you God, not Tyson. Thank you to my team.”

All three judges scored the contest 116-112 to Usyk.

USA’s Patrick Morley, Panama’s Ignacio Robles and Puerto Rico’s Gerardo Martinez were the three judges at ringside.

Despite coming to the same conclusion, the judges did not reach it the same way.

The judges were unanimous on rounds four, five, six, seven, eight, 10 and 11, but split for the other rounds.

Every round was 10-9 to the winner, with no knockdowns to score and none of the judges electing for a 10-10 round.

Round one – split

Robles – Usyk

Morley – Fury

Martinez – Fury

Round two – split

Robles – Fury

Morley – Usyk

Martinez – Usyk

Round three – split

Robles – Usyk

Morley – Fury

Martinez – Usyk

Round four – unanimous

Robles – Fury

Morley – Fury

Martinez – Fury

Round five – unanimous

Robles – Fury

Morley – Fury

Martinez – Fury

Round six – unanimous

Robles – Usyk

Morley – Usyk

Martinez – Usyk

Round seven – unanimous

Robles – Usyk

Morley – Usyk

Martinez – Usyk

Round eight – unanimous

Robles – Usyk

Morley – Usyk

Martinez – Usyk

Round nine – split

Robles – Fury

Morley – Usyk

Martinez – Usyk

Round ten – unanimous

Robles – Usyk

Morley – Usyk

Martinez – Usyk

Round 11 – unanimous

Robles – Usyk

Morley – Usyk

Martinez – Usyk

Round 12 – split

Robles – Usyk

Morley – Usyk

Martinez – Fury