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Britain's Tyson Fury (red) and Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk (blue) compete during their heavyweight world championship rematch at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Tyson Fury refused to accept he lost his rematch against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and claimed the judges gave his opponent a “Christmas gift”.
All three judges scored the fight 116-112 in Usyk’s favour, handing the Ukrainian a second successive win over Fury.
Fury and his promoter Frank Warren were both adamant the Briton had done enough to win the contest in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“The judges gave him a Christmas gift,” Fury said. “I feel like I won both fights.
“I know I had to knock him out but it’s boxing and this happens. There is no doubt in my mind I won this fight.
“Frank [Warren] had me three or four rounds up and a lot of people had me up by at least two.”
Fury, 36, did not answer any questions in the ring after the bout, choosing to head backstage where he eventually spoke to the media.
“I’m not going to cry over spilled milk, it’s over now.” Fury added.
“I’ve been in boxing my whole life but I’ll always feel a little bit hard done by – not a little bit, a lot.”
Queensberry’s Warren made clear his frustration with the result in the ring and continued to make his case for a Fury win afterwards.
“I’m dumbfounded at how they [judges] scored it,” Warren said.
“His jabbing was superb, his footwork was superb, he wasn’t slow. He was very evasive.”
Victory for Usyk extends his unblemished record to 23 victories and further strengthens his claim as one of the greatest of this generation.
“Uncle Frank, I think he is blind,” Usyk said.
“If Tyson says it is a Christmas gift then OK, thank you God, not Tyson. Thank you to my team.”
