The official scorecards were released after Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury for the second time in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The heavyweight pair went head to head seven months after their first fight, which Usyk won by split decision to become undisputed champion of boxing’s blue division.
It was another exciting fight where both men had moments of success, but the judges felt there was a clear winner after 12 rounds as they all scored the fight 116-112 to Usyk.
And now it has been revealed how they reached that verdict.
It turns out that Fury was winning on all three cards after five rounds, with two judges scoring it 3-2 in his favor, while the other had him 4-1 up.
But everyone agreed that Usyk turned the tide in the second half of the contest. One judge, Patrick Morley, gave the Ukrainian each of the final seven rounds, while Gerardo Martinez felt Usyk swept rounds six to 11, before giving the nod to Fury in the 12th.
Oleksandr Usyk raised his hand after beating Tyson Fury on points on Saturday night.
Tyson Fury was not happy with the decision and quickly stormed out of the ring.
His promoter, Frank Warren, was also angry, stating that it was “impossible” to score the fight so heavily in favor of Usyk, and the official scorecards have now been released.
Ignacio Robles, who was only named the third judge for Saturday night’s main event after a coin toss earlier in the day, also gave Usyk six of the final seven rounds.
Interestingly, he scored the ninth round, which went so badly for Fury in May, in favor of the Gypsy King.
All the judges agreed on the final result, but some observers felt Fury had been treated harshly after pushing Usyk all the way.
The man himself certainly held that view as he stormed out of the ring after the decision was announced, stating backstage that he felt he had “won by at least seven rounds.”
His promoter, Frank Warren, was equally perplexed.
‘How is it possible that Tyson only gets four rounds in this fight?’ Warren ranted in the ring.
‘It’s impossible. He received four rounds, each gave him four rounds, all different.
‘He’s very disappointed, as am I. But I mean, I’m not saying there’s any prejudice (but) everyone on the front, we all thought the same thing.’
Warren made his frustration clear in the ring after the final bell in Riyadh
‘Balls. I don’t understand. “I’m really disappointed with that.”
Warren was also upset that Fury had not been given any credit for his work in the second half of that fight.
After hearing that Usyk had dominated the last few rounds on the scorecards, Warren continued: “How can that be? That’s impossible. And the same thing with the other judge here, you give him a round at the end of the last six, and he does it.” Same here with this guy.
‘It’s crazy. And I am calm and collected. I’m not yelling or screaming. That’s nonsense.’
But despite Fury and Warren’s protests, the men who mattered stood by Usyk for another night of high drama.