Tyson Fury claims he doesn’t believe in robberies ahead of tonight’s DAZN PPV rematch with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh. Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) says it just comes down to different opinions that judges and people have over outcomes.
Interestingly, one judge scored Fury’s last fight in his favor, 114-113 against Usyk, and he was the oddball of the three judges who worked the contest on May 18th. Most fans saw it as a clear victory for Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), who had battered Fury in the ninth round but was prevented from finishing him off by the referee.
Referee’s Impact
Fury didn’t mention referees’ role in fights and how they can sway an outcome. You can argue that the Gypsy King would have three additional defeats on his record if not for referees that worked his fights against John McDermott and Deontay Wilder. Fury has been VERY lucky with the decisions referees have made in three of his fights, including his last one against Usyk.
In Fury’s first fight against ‘Big John’ McDermott on September 11, 2009, the referee Terry O’Connor scored the contest 98-92 for Tyson. Many fans who saw that fight felt that McDermott deserved the win but had been robbed with the referee scoring it for Fury. That was O’Connor’s opinion to score it for Fury, but that view differed from how the public viewed the fight. McDermott had outhustled fury.
Then there’s the count that referee Jack Reiss gave to Fury in his first fight with Deontay Wilder when he was dropped in the 12th round and was out cold on December 1, 2018. Instead of stopping the fight, Reiss gave Fury a count while he was unconscious on his back. The fight should have been stopped on the spot, but it wasn’t.
In Fury’s third fight with Wilder, he was dropped in the fourth round. Many fans believe the referee gave a slow count and that the fight would have been stopped if he had counted at a faster pace. Referees obviously have their own way of counting, but Fury may have been saved from yet another knockout loss by the way this ref counted.
Fury Denies Boxing Robberies
“I feel like there’s so many different elements to judging. I don’t think there’s really any such thing as robberies anymore, because it’s just opinions, isn’t it? Three judges are ringside, and each of them might see the fight differently and might score it differently. It’s just how an individual sees a contest and how they judge it. Sometimes it’s very difficult to score,” said Tyson Fury to Yahoo Sports, giving his view on judging but saying little about referees that have arguably saved him from defeats.
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