Oleksandr Usyk now officially holds two wins over fellow heavyweight great Tyson Fury. But Eddie Hearn isn’t so sure that should be the case.
The Matchroom Boxing boss gave his take on the judges’ decision following the highly anticipated rematch that saw Usyk earn a unanimous nod over Fury on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All three judges scored the contest 116-112 in Usyk’s favor, a wide margin that Hearn doesn’t feel accurately reflected the competitive in-ring action.
“I was just debating with Sergio [Mora], he scored it 116-112,” Hearn said on the DAZN broadcast. “I thought the fight was a draw. I actually had Fury going up into the last, I scored the last round Usyk. I thought so many close rounds and I do want to see it back.
“Frank [Warren] was right, most people in our row did have it for Tyson Fury. But one was Frank Warren, one was Bob Arum, his promoter, and Oscar De La Hoya felt the same way. I really struggled to split them. It was more of a chess match tonight. Usyk did dominate more of the second half of the fight like we said he would, but I had it very close.”
Hearn’s fellow boxing promoter Frank Warren actually protested the decision in the ring after the bout’s conclusion, carrying the scorecards with him as he questioned how Fury could only have four rounds scored for him. Regardless, Usyk can now claim two victories over Fury, who had previously gone undefeated in 35 pro bouts before Usyk beat him by split decision this past May.
An AI judge—not included as part of the official scoring—had the fight even wider for Usyk at 118-112. Hearn agreed with Warren that Fury should have been given more rounds, though overall he was fine with how the verdict was handled.
“I just didn’t feel it was an 8-4 fight, that’s the thing,” Hearn said. “But one thing I will say that was pleasing, all three judges had it the same way, and all three judges are high-quality judges. Steve Weisfeld and the like as well. I believe the AI judge had it 118-112 for Usyk. … Again, I had it a draw, one round [either way], I thought it was very, very close. But consistency from the judges, which is good to see. I guess we’ll watch it back, but I found it difficult to pick a winner. I thought it was very close.”
Speaking on the futures of both fighters, Hearn agreed that a rematch between Usyk and Daniel Dubois—promoted to undisputed IBF heavyweight champion when Usyk vacated that title to book a second fight with Fury rather than face mandatory IBF challenger Joseph Parker—makes sense, though he cautioned Dubois about looking past Parker.
As for Fury, he believes it’s finally time for him to face fellow British star Anthony Joshua.
“The reality is there’s only one fight for Tyson Fury and that’s Anthony Joshua,” Hearn said. “It’s the biggest fight probably in the history of British boxing. Everyone will always want to see it.
“And by the way, that wasn’t a Tyson Fury that looked finished. It wasn’t a flat performance, it wasn’t a poor performance, he didn’t look gunshy, he didn’t look like his punch resistance was in question like we talked about earlier. I think Tyson Fury’s still potentially at the peak of his powers, just not good enough to beat Oleksandr Usyk tonight. But for me, A.J. against Fury is the one.”
