Tyson Fury insisted Oleksandr Usyk got an early Christmas gift from the judges after the Ukrainian won their heavyweight championship rematch overnight on Saturday. The “Gypsy King”, who was non-committal about his future, insisted he had won the fight that was scored 116-112 by all three officials in a unanimous decision. The 36-year-old Fury, unbeaten until he first met Usyk in their four-belt unification fight in May, departs Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena with two defeats on his record.
“Listen, it is what it is. I’m not going to cry over spilt milk, it’s happened now,” said Fury.
“I know boxing, I’ve been in it all my life — you can’t change no decisions. But I feel a little bit hard done by, actually a lot.”
He added: “There was a little bit of Christmas spirit in there. He got a little Christmas gift.”
Asked whether the public would see him fight again, Fury said: “You might do, you might not do. Who knows?”
Promoter Frank Warren also claimed victory for Fury, calling the decision “nuts”.
He said the boxer, who needed victory to trigger a trilogy fight, would need time to decide whether he will retire or return to the ring.
“That’s up to him. I mean, it’s just after a fight. Obviously emotions are running high. We’ll see,” Warren said.
“It is what it is, and we’ll have to see what happens in the future for Tyson. He’ll make up his mind.”
Usyk’s win takes him to 23-0 with 14 knockouts and extends one of the all-time best careers that includes Olympic gold and undisputed champion at cruiserweight.
“He’s a great fighter, it’s a great performance,” Usyk, 37, said of Fury, who was unbeaten over 35 fights until he lost their four-belt unification bout in May.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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