Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will enter the ring for their much-awaited rematch on Saturday, but the drama is already reaching its peak. After their heated press conference and face-off for their unified heavyweight title bout, to the length of Fury’s beard, the latest drama surrounds the selection of one of the judges. Judge Fernando Barbosa pulled out of the fight due to an illness, and the two camps were in dispute for his replacement.

Ignacio Robles from Panama and Steve Weisfeld from America were flown in to replace Barbosa, but the Usyk camp preferred Robles, while the Fury camp wanted Weisfeld as the third judge. Well, they have settled their dispute in a very bizarre way- via a coin toss. Robles will be the third judge and join Gerardo Martinez and Pat Morely in scoring the fight ringside, according to journalist Keith Idec.

“Update on judging panel for Usyk-Fury 2. After much back & forth between camps & local commission, Panama’s Ignacio Robles, not N.J.’s Steve Weisfeld, has replaced Miami’s Fernando Robles as a judge. A coin flip early Saturday afternoon in Riyadh decided it. NOT making this up,” the journalist revealed in an X post.

But why did the two camps insist on having their own pick the third judge? Well, in their first fight, Usyk won a very close split decision 115-112, 114-113, 113-114. A point or two being scored differently on one of the judges’ scorecard could have changed the result altogether. And if their rematch goes to the judges again, both camps wanted to have judges that they feel would be fair, or perhaps on their side, given the reputation boxing judges in general have. But, with the way both men are approaching the fight, it seems that the fight will not go to the judges scorecard at all.

Why Tyson Fury is deadly serious this time around

Tyson Fury likes to trash talk. A natural entertainer, ‘The Gypsy King’ was very animated, joking around and throwing insults Usyk’s way in the lead up to their first fight in May. But this time, the former champion was serious- deadly serious. At the press conference for their rematch this Thursday, Fury had a dire warning for Usyk.

“I’m going to dish out a whole lot of pain. I’m going to put this f****r in the hurt locker… The first fight, I talked, I joked – all my career. This time I’m serious,” ‘The Gypsy King’ said. The two men then engaged in one of the most epic face-offs in boxing history, looking each other in the eyes for over ten minutes.

And there is good reason for Fury to be so serious. After all, he was cruising to a victory in the first fight, having dominated the initial rounds. Only for him to start showboating, allowing Usyk to mount a strong comeback, and scraping through a split decision victory. This time around, Fury is the slight betting underdog, and seems to be determined to not repeat the mistakes of the first fight and let the fight slip away from his fingers simply because of his penchant to entertain fans. What do you think about the bizarre way the third judge was decided for the Fury-Usyk clash?