- Fury and Usyk will meet in their much anticipated rematch on Saturday night
- A last-minute change has been made to the just fight a day before showdown
A coin toss could decided who will be the replacement judge for Tyson Fury‘s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
A last-minute change needs to be made ahead of the heavyweight showdown in Riyadh after one official withdrew due to illness.
Miami’s Fernando Barbosa was not well enough to travel to the Middle East and join the other two judges, American Patrick Morley & Puerto Rican Gerardo Martinez.
Two back-up officials, Steve Weisfeld and Ignacio Robles, have now been flown in as potential replacements.
However, the two teams are yet to come to an agreement over which one should be chosen.
And Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has now suggested that a coin toss should settle the matter. should settle the issue.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet in their much anticipated rematch on Saturday night
Warren told Sky Sports: ‘One of the judges has taken ill of the three that were decided upon.
‘There are two standby judges, both of them are flying in and we’ve got to decide which one it’s going to be.
‘We want one of them and the other camp wants the other, so I’ve suggested we spin a coin.’
‘This will get sorted. Use a bit of common sense, and actually both camps are very, very professional and know what they have to do.’
Fury and Usyk clashed in one of the biggest fights of all time in May in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world with the Ukrainian awarded victory by a via split decision verdict from the three judges.
Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh earlier this week announced plans for an additional judge to score the rematch.
Alalshikh said the AI-powered judge will score the contest as part of an experiment, but its verdict will not impact the official result.
Miami’s Fernando Barbosa was not well enough to judge the fight and has been replaced
‘For the first time ever, an AI-powered judge will monitor the fight,’ Alalshikh said.
‘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.
‘Don’t miss history in the making.’
Alalshikh shared a video promoting the judge which stated: ‘For years boxing has been defined by its glory but sometimes that glory is clouded by doubt and controversy. Isn’t it time for fairness to step into the ring?
The promotion added ‘This isn’t just AI, it’s revolutionizing boxing. It’s fairness powered by technology and human expertise. See the revolution unfold on December 21.’
The first fight saw Usyk awarded the contest by two judges, who scored it 115-112, 114-113 in his favour.
Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh announced plans for a ‘groundbreaking experiment’
The third judge had given Fury the verdict by a 114-113 score.
Fury and Usyk will meet in a 12-round rematch at the Kingdom Arena as the Gypsy King seeks to bounce back from his only defeat in professional boxing career.
HOW TO WATCH: Click to register and watch Usyk vs. Fury 2 on DAZN here
