Tyson Fury fight with Oleksandr Usyk undergoes late change with just a day to go until boxing rematch
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A late change has been made to the judging panel for the upcoming Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk boxing rematch.
Fernando Barbosa of Miami, who was originally set to score the historic clash, has fallen ill and did not travel to Riyadh.
Steve Weisfeld from New Jersey has been appointed as his replacement, joining Puerto Rico's Gerardo Martinez and Chicago's Patrick Morley on the judging panel.
Robert Ramirez Jr of Puerto Rico will serve as referee for the contest.
A late change has been made to the judging panel for the upcoming Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk boxing rematch
PA
The change comes ahead of the highly anticipated rematch, following their first controversial bout in May which saw Usyk claim a split decision victory.
Weisfeld brings significant experience to the judging panel, having scored over 2,000 fights in a career spanning back to 1991.
He previously scored Usyk's first bout against Anthony Joshua in 2021, awarding the Ukrainian a 116-112 victory.
Tyson Fury lost to Oleksandr Usyk in their first fight back in May
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The veteran judge also officiated two of Fury's contests against Deontay Wilder in 2020 and 2021, scoring in favour of the Gypsy King before both fights ended in knockouts.
Throughout his illustrious career, Weisfeld has largely managed to avoid controversy in his scoring decisions.
In a groundbreaking development, an AI-powered fourth judge will submit a scorecard for the fight.
Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh announced the innovative experiment on social media.
"For the first time ever, an AI-powered judge will monitor the fight," Alalshikh wrote. "Free from bias and human error brought to you by The Ring."
The AI judge's involvement marks a historic moment in boxing, though it will not impact the official results of the bout.
The experimental scoring system will make its debut during what Alalshikh described as "the biggest fight of the century" on December 21.
Fury has pledged to reduce his showboating tactics in the upcoming rematch.
The heavyweight champion acknowledged the need for greater focus in his second encounter with Usyk.
Stream the long-awaited rematch between the two best heavyweights in the world, Fury vs Usyk. The clash will see Tyson Fury aim to avenge his first-ever professional loss, as he fights Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the second time in a year. DAZN lets you stream across a range of devices, from iPhone, Android, iPad, Fire TV Stick, Roku, Samsung TVs, and many more. New users qualify for a 7-day free trial too. The fight is also available to stream via Amazon's Prime Video service and TNT Sports too
Usyk vs. Fury 2
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Tyson Fury will be hoping to win his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night
PA
"I don't believe the showboating cost me the fight but I need to be more focused this time and not do as much," Fury said earlier this week.
He reflected on commentary from his previous bout, noting: "One of the commentators picked up on it and said, 'has anybody ever seen Tyson Fury clown this much, even against lower level opposition?'"
"That's how easy it was for me in there and you can get complacent because of that."
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