The most anticipated rematch with a special judge: the match between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Furywith the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight belts up for grabs, will be judged by an artificial intelligence tool. As announced by Turki Al-Sheikh, President of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, the AI judgment, branded Ring Magazine, will be “free of human bias and errors”. The scores in question will obviously not be taken into consideration for the purposes of the official result, but they will represent an interesting yardstick for comparison. In the history of boxing there have been numerous criticized verdicts, not only in professionalism, but also (and perhaps above all) in Olympic boxing. At the moment it is too early to say whether this solution linked to artificial intelligence will be implemented in the next few years, but it is certainly an experiment that the world of boxing will observe with great interest.
THE VERDICTS DISCUSSED
Last October the supermatch between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev was characterized by protests over the mixed decision in favor of the Russian-Canadian. Bivol lodged a complaint with the four sanctioning bodies that oversaw the bout, disputing the score that led to his defeat. Another famous case in history was that between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield in 1999: with a split draw that raised a chorus of criticism and controversy. Among the famous split draw cases discussed also the first match between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, as well as the inaugural chapter of the rivalry between Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin. In 1988, however, it was Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns who had a controversial draw: in that case there was no rematch.
L’UNDERCARD
The event which will culminate with the main event between Usyk and Fury will start from 4.30pm with the undercard. In the heavyweights, eyes will also be on the challenge between the promising young British player Moses Itauma (22-0, 10 KOs) and the Australian Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KOs). In the same category there will be another all-English fight between the undefeated Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs) and Dave Allen (23-6, 18 KOs). In the super welterweight category, there will be a fight featuring Serhii Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) and Ishmael Davis (13-1). For the super bantamweights, an all-British match will be the protagonist between Peter McGrail (10-1, 6 KOs) and Dennis McCann (16-0-1, 8 KOs), while Isaac Lowe (25-2-3) will open the evening , 8 KOs), relative of Tyson Fury, against the Scottish Lee McGregor (14-1-1, 11 KOs) in a featherweight match.
FURY AND USYK FOR HISTORY
In the first match Usyk won on points. A real comeback after Fury’s advantage in the early rounds. A knockdown of the Gypsy King in the ninth round was also decisive. That bout marked Fury’s first professional defeat and crowned Usyk as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 (but in that case there were three belts). Fury now seeks rematch, while Usyk aims to defend his crowns. No longer four like in May, but three: WBC, WBO and WBA, given that the IBF was taken away from Usyk who would have had to defend the belt against the mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois, then victorious in the world championship match against Anthony Joshua. “My team and I discussed. We found the weak points and worked on them. I have no idea if I’m improving, but I’ve been working hard. We will see the results on December 21st – said Usyk – Perfection? I found it. I found it everywhere. It’s complicated to look for order. You have to stay focused because you can always build up and down in your life and stay focused. I found my balance. I found my perfection.”
TV COVERAGE
The entire event will be broadcast on DAZN in pay per view at the price of 19.99 euros: “This fight is the perfect end to an incredible year for DAZN and boxing fans around the world. USYK vs. Fury 2 represents the level of premium, world-class events we are committed to delivering on a regular basis, bringing fans the biggest names and most competitive and exciting bouts the sport has to offer.” said Alfie Sharman, Vice President of DAZN.
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