Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury again on December 21, keeping his three major world titles with a unanimous decision win. The judges all scored it 116-112 for Usyk, who repeated his victory from their first fight in May.
Frank Warren, Fury's promoter, has taken another look at the fight. He still thinks Fury won, but admits it was closer than he first thought.
Warren told BoxNation:
"I still feel that Tyson won it, I think it's much closer than I thought the first time but I still thought he won it."
With 47 years of experience in boxing, Warren can't understand how one judge didn't give Fury any of the last seven rounds. He watched the fight again and talked to others in the sport he respects.
"I watched it again, and a lot of people involved in the sport who I consider to be quite knowledgeable, and I consider myself to be quite knowledgeable having been doing it for 47 years and guided god knows how many champions in my time, I don't see how one of the judges did not give Tyson one of the last seven rounds."
Warren points out that the other two judges each gave Fury one round in the second half of the fight. He finds this puzzling.
"I cannot see that, I watched it back and the other two judges each gave him a round each. I don't understand that."
Before the rematch, Fury had worked hard in camp, hoping to avenge his first loss. But on fight night, Usyk's impressive work rate and pressure proved too much. Warren admits:
"It was a close fight, like the first fight. I thought Tyson would be stopping him this time, but it didn't happen."
Some in the boxing world thought the scorecards were too wide, agreeing with Warren's initial reaction.
Fury's future plans are now uncertain. If he decides to keep boxing, Eddie Hearn has proposed a fight with Anthony Joshua. For now, though, the heavyweight division belongs to Oleksandr Usyk.
