Tyson Fury has questioned advice offered by the team in the final rounds of his world heavyweight title fight against Oleksandr Usyk.
The Gypsy King suffered a split decision loss to the Ukrainian on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk became the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999, while Fury was left reflecting on the first defeat of his professional career.
The judges scored the fight 115-112 Usyk, 114-113 Fury and 114-113 Usyk, as the 37-year-old secured all four heavyweight belts.
Fury appeared to express frustration with his team after the fighter, revealing that he had been told he was winning the fight before the final round of the contest.
Tyson Fury said his team had told him he was winning the fight before the final round.
Fury suggested he would have opted for a knockout if his team had suggested he was behind
Usyk (left) staged a stunning comeback to beat Fury (right) on Saturday night in Riyadh.
The 35-year-old claimed he would have changed his approach if his coach SugarHill Steward or father John had informed him he was behind Usyk in the closing stages in Riyadh.
“I’m not a judge and I can’t judge a fight while I’m boxing,” Fury said.
“If they had told me before the last round that I was down, I would have gone and tried to finish it, but everyone in the corner thought we were up.
‘All I had to do was keep boxing and keep doing what I was doing and I was achieving it.
‘I’m not going to cry about it, I’ve had many victories.
“I was having a lot of fun, I was playing, I had my hands around my back, I was enjoying it.”
Fans have also claimed that multiple voices in Fury’s corner during the fight may have contributed to his loss, with Steward and John Fury offering different advice.
A clip showed Steward offering advice to Fury before the final two rounds of the fight.
Fury’s trainer could be heard saying: “Don’t cross your damn legs, get ready to punch,” before adding: “Don’t be afraid to slide, stop backing away or you’ll get caught.”
As Steward urged Fury to go on the offensive, John Fury could also be heard offering advice to his son, repeatedly saying “light blows, light blows.”
The Ukrainian had Fury in trouble in the ninth round and almost knocked out the Gypsy King
Fury started the fight well, however, he began to fade as the heavyweight title fight progressed.
The Gypsy King taunted Usyk throughout the fight despite being the second best of the night.
He was also heard speaking as Steward told Fury to “box and move.”
His team told Fury with two rounds left in the contest that he was winning the fight.
Despite being told he was winning the fight heading into the final two rounds, Fury ultimately ended up on the wrong side of the judges’ verdict.
Usyk was awarded the 11th round by the two judges who ultimately awarded him the contest, but Fury was awarded the final round on each of his cards.
The judges on the night scored the fight 115-112 Usyk, 114-113 Fury and 114-113 Usyk to see the Ukrainian win via split decision.
Fury dominated the early rounds before Usyk regained control of the fight with a flurry of punches in the ninth round that left the Gypsy King reeling.
After the final round, there was mutual respect between the two fighters who exchanged kisses and hugs as they awaited the result.
But Fury’s mood soured when Usyk was named the victor and the UK fighter told an interviewer that ‘People are on the side of Usyk for the war in Ukraine.
The victory makes Usyk the first undisputed heavyweight champion this century.
Fury suggested he will take time to decide whether to activate the rematch clause
Fury initially insisted he would activate the clause to ensure a rematch takes place in October, but later suggested he would take some time to decide.
“We’ve been punching each other for 12 rounds there, so we’re going to go home, eat something, drink a few beers, spend some family time, walk my dog, go to the dump and Frank and I are going to talk about what will happen in the future,” Fury said at a press conference.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I think I would do a little more of the same, keep my defense a little tighter, a little more focused and not play as much because I was having fun there.
“I was playing, I was hitting him to the body, with hooks to the head and I thought he was dominating the fight.”
