'Groundbreaking' Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk experiment explained after AI judge introduced

The upcoming rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury is set to include a pioneering trial where artificial intelligence (AI) will score the fight.

While the AI's scoring won't determine the final outcome, this initiative led by Turki Alalshikh hints at a future where controversial judging decisions could be a thing of the past.

The introduction was announced ahead of fight night but only for the main event. However, during the undercard, there was a contentious decision in Riyadh where Johnny Fisher narrowly secured a split decision win over Dave Allen.

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Despite Allen knocking down Fisher in the fifth round and finishing strong, two judges favoured the undefeated Fisher, leaving Allen visibly confused by the split decision announcement.

The AI system will operate alongside the human judges but will not influence the official verdict if the fight goes the full distance. In a statement on X, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority announced: "For the first time ever, an AI-powered judge will monitor the fight."

"Free from bias and human error brought to you by The Ring. This groundbreaking experiment, which won't impact the official results, debuts during the biggest fight of the century."

This could mark the start of substantial changes with a host of controversial judges scorecards in recent years that have divided boxing. Therefore thrusting a negative spotlight on the sport with many questioning the integrity.

There will be interest in how the scorecards are compiled but the final scores from AI will not have an impact on the final result.