Although Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk‘s fight delivered on all fronts, what became a major talking point apart from their performances was the judging. At the end of the bout, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Usyk 116-112. The results were, of course, not received without contention, particularly from camp Fury, and many felt that it was a much closer fight, wondering how ‘The Gypsy King’ won only four rounds while ‘The Cat’ won eight.

Across the 36 minutes, Tyson Fury threw 509 punches in the fight but managed to land just 144. On the other hand, Oleksandr Usyk was far more economical, throwing 423 punches and landing 179. As mentioned, the fight wasn’t without its share of controversy and drama. The bout was a closely contested battle, with both Frank Warren and Fury protesting the outcome. ‘The Gypsy King’  immediately left the ring after the fight, while Warren expressed his frustration openly. He said, “I don’t understand how he has only won four rounds. It’s up to him, it’s too early to say. It’s immediately after a fight, and emotions are running high. But it’s nuts. I’m very disappointed, but it is what it is.” 

Fury and his team don’t quite agree with it but former UFC ref ‘Big’ John McCarthy feels the decision was absolutely on point. Speaking to Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson on the Weighing In podcast, he shared his honest opinion about the outcome and judging of the fight. He said, “He [Usyk] has got your number and he understands how to stand in front of you. When you throw – he usually starts it, he knows your counter. And then he’s countering, and he’s landing. And he landed at a much better percentage. He landed more shots. He easily won the fight. I didn’t think it was close.”  Despite Fury’s determined efforts, he suffered his only second pro-career loss against Usyk, who improved his record to an undefeated 23-0, further cementing his place as one of the greatest boxers in modern history.

On the same side as John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, was former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. While he did enjoy watching the fight, ‘The Count’ felt Usyk literally dominated the fight. After the fight, he took to his Believe You Me YouTube channel to share his honest opinion on the fight.

Michael Bisping impressed with the way Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury II was judged

For the first time in combat sports history, the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk saw the introduction of an AI-powered judging system. For a long time, the sport of boxing has faced a lot of criticism for the disparity in scoring by judges who are traditionally people. Despite three actual judges being present at the event, UFC legend Michael Bisping shared his thoughts on the fight and strongly supported the official decision. ‘The Count’ pointed out how closely the AI system’s assessment matched the judges’ scorecards.

He said,  “The judges, for once in boxing, got it right. All the experts had Oleksandr Usyk winning 116 to 112—Usyk, eight rounds, to four in favor of Fury. And that’s not one judge, not two judges, but all three judges. Even the AI judge had it that way.” While the final scores from the human judges (Gerardo Martinez, Pat Morley, and Ignacio Robles) matched those of the AI system, there were significant differences in how the rounds were scored. The judges agreed on five rounds (4, 5, 6, 10, and 11), but their assessments varied on the remaining seven rounds.

What do you feel about the judging that happened in the fight? Did Oleksandr Usyk deserve to win the fight against Tyson Fury? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.