TYSON FURY’S blockbuster rematch with Oleksandr Usyk has been subjected to a late change, reports suggest.
But rather than any fighters being drafted in at the last-minute, the change relates to the judges who will be overseeing the fight.
Puerto Rico’s Gerardo Martinez, Chicago’s Patrick Morley and Miami’s Fernando Barbosa were originally set to score the historic clash.
However, boxing journalist, Keith Idec, has reported that Barbosa has been taken ill and did not fly to Riyadh.
Consequently, Steve Weisfeld of New Jersey is said to have stepped in to fill the void.
Weisfeld was a judge on Usyk’s first match with Anthony Joshua in 2021, scoring the Cat a 116-112 winner.
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He also scored Fury ahead of Deontay Wilder in the second and third fights in their trilogy in 2020 and 2021 respectively, although his services were not required due to the Gypsy King scoring KOs in both.
Weisfeld has led an illustrious career stretching back to 1991, with over 2000 fights under his belt, and has largely avoided controversy in that time.
Robert Ramirez Jr of Puerto Rico has been picked as the referee.
Usyk and Fury’s first fight in May garnered its share of controversy.
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The Ukrainian edged the contest 115-112 to Usyk, 114-113 to Fury, and 114-113 to Usyk.
Meanwhile, a new experiment will also see an AI-powered fourth judge submit a scorecard for the fight as part of a groundbreaking experiment.
Announcing the news, Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh wrote on social media: “For the first time ever, an AI-powered judge will monitor the fight.
“Free from bias and human error brought to you by The Ring.
“This groundbreaking experiment, which won’t impact the official results, debuts during the biggest fight of the century, #Usyk2Fury, on December 21.”
Fury vs Usyk 2: Ring walk time, TV channels and undercard – all you need to know for big rematch
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
