British heavyweight Tyson Fury says the judges made a mistake in awarding a unanimous decision win to Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine in their clash for the WBA (Super), WBO and WBC titles at the Kingdom Arena on Saturday night, claiming he should have won.
Fury fell to the second defeat of his professional career, both of which have come against Usyk, as he missed the chance to win the belts despite a much better performance in a rematch of their May bout, which he lost.
Now he says: “I was quite confident. I thought I won that fight again... I thought I’ve won both fights. But then again, I’ve gone home with two losses on my record now, so there’s not much I can do about it.
“I can just fight my heart out and do the best I can, but again, I’ll always believe until the day I die, I won that fight.”
Usyk vs. Fury 2 was another CLASSIC! 🔥#Usyk2Fury | #RiyadhSeason | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/kfWSLHGS4k
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 22, 2024
Usyk, meanwhile, was praised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said in a Telegram post: “Victory! So important and so necessary for all of us now.
“Having retained the championship belts, Oleksandr proves: we are Ukrainians and we will not give up what’s ours. And no matter how difficult it is – we will win.
“Be it the ring, battlefield or diplomatic arena – we fight and we will not give up what’s ours.
“Congrats on the victory, Cossack! Congrats on the victory Ukraine!”