Tyson Fury looked like a bad sport after losing to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night. He said the referees gave the Ukrainian an “early Christmas present” rather than admit he lost to the better man in the rematch in Riyadh.
The statistics tell the story
Usyk (23-0, 12 KOs) outboxed and understudied Fury (34-2, 24 KOs) Saturday night at Kingdom Arena. Oleksandr was aggressive, connected with more shots, hurt Fury several times, and well deserved the unanimous decision the judges gave him in 12 rounds.
The scores were 116-112, 116-112, and 116-112. Fury says his promoter, Frank Warren, had him win three or four rounds, which meant zero.
Usyk vs Fury 2 Punch Stats
– Tyson Fury: 144 of 509 punches, 28%.
– Oleksandr Usyk: 179 out of 423, 42%.
“Yes, I was quite confident. I thought I won that fight. I thought I won both fights, but now I have two losses on my record now,” Tyson Fury said. Post-fight press conferencesounds like someone in denial about his loss to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night in Riyadh.
“Again, I will always believe until the day I die, that I won that fight. I was on my front foot all night, landing my body and my head. (My promoter) Frank (Warren) asked me for three or four rounds. Most people would have at least two. Always be a little diligent about it, not a little, actually, a lot.
“When you don't get the knockout. That's what happens. You can't guarantee a win,” Fury said.
The worst kind of fighter you can have is someone who fails to admit when they're wrong and haven't done their job right. When you tell them they're not up to par, they deny it and think you're the problem.
Anger is an example of this type of person. Put him on a battlefield in a war situation where he has to follow orders, and he's completely untrustworthy, and you can't trust him to do what he's told. Put him in the point position to lead the platoon, and he will not be trustworthy because he cannot admit his mistakes. Fury cannot face the truth about himself.
“I don't know if you've seen the scorecards. One of the judges gave Usyk the last seven rounds. The other two judges in the last seven rounds gave him one round each,” promoter Frank Warren said of the judges. “How can you say he won one round of the last seven?” Tours?
“Christmas gift”
“I think he got a little Christmas present from those referees,” Fury said of Usyk. “There is no doubt in my mind that I won the battle.”
“Bob Arum scored it 8-4 for Tyson,” said Fury's manager Spencer Brown, speaking about Tyson's top-ranking co-promoter Bob Arum.
