Oleksandr Usyk thinks Frank Warren might need to get his eyes checked.
Warren, the head of Queensberry Promotions and the promoter for Tyson Fury, railed against the judges Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after Usyk won a unanimous decision over Fury. Following the announcement of the decision, Warren entered the ring carrying a scorecard and questioned the wide margin, with all three judges having it 116-112 in Usyk’s favor.
Usyk was later asked about Warren and Fury’s post-fight comments—Fury was confident he did enough to beat Usyk and joked that maybe Usyk received a “Christmas gift” from the judges—and he suggested it’s Warren whose judgement was suspect.
“Uncle Frank, I think [is] blind,” Usyk told reporters with Ukrainian translation assistance. “If Tyson says it’s a Christmas gift, OK, thank you, God, not Tyson. Thank you, God. Thank you, my coach Yuri, thank you, my coach Kuba, thank you, my team.
“Listen, Frank [is] a crazy man, I think. It’s in my opinion. OK, no problem. I win.”
With the win, Usyk remained the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world (in all but name as he vacated the IBF title so that he could face Fury again as opposed to a mandatory challenger dictated by IBF) and now holds two wins over Fury. He won a split decision against Fury this past May to hand “The Gypsy King” his first-ever defeat.
Warren’s quarrel with the scoring was due to the lopsided judging of the second half of the fight, which saw Fury awarded just two rounds across all three scorecards.
“One judge gave Usyk the last seven rounds, he didn’t give Tyson one round, and the other two judges of the last seven rounds each gave [Fury] one round,” Warren said, speaking to reporters prior to Usyk’s media time. “I’ve been doing this for years and I’m biased, I know, because I’m in Tyson’s camp, but how on Earth can anybody say he never won one round out of the last seven?”
For Usyk’s part, he wasn’t thinking about the scores during the fight and certainly wasn’t after it was over.
“I do not think about it,” Usyk said. “Listen, I win. It’s enough. How many rounds I win, how many I don’t win, now it doesn’t matter. And still.”
Having gone 24 rounds with Fury now, Usyk and his rival will forever be tied together when discussing their respective legacies. Fury had been the king of the heavyweight division since beating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, until Usyk dethroned him this year.
Usyk has built his own inimitable legacy, having earned undisputed cruiserweight champion status in 2018 before moving up to take on Fury. Through this time, he’s formed an undeniable bond with his fellow legend.
“This is my best friend,” Usyk joked before adding, “I very respect this guy because I think it’s very tough, my opponent. Tyson Fury make strong. Tyson Fury continues [to motivate] me. But Tyson is a great opponent, he’s a big man, he’s a tough boxer. It’s a good man.
“Tyson, a lot of talk, it’s just show. I very respect Tyson Fury. Twenty-four rounds, now it’s already history.”
