Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 to feature AI-powered judging for first time ever

The highly anticipated rematch between heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury is adding some new technology for scoring, but it won’t affect the actual outcome of the fight.

On Tuesday, Turki Al-Sheikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Fund, announced plans to introduce artificial intelligence scoring for the Usyk vs. Fury 2 rematch, which takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While the AI-powered scoring won’t play any part in determining the winner, Al-Sheikh touted the potential of the technology for such a high-profile boxing match like this one.

“For the first time ever, an AI-powered judge will monitor the fight,” Al-Sheikh wrote on Twitter. “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, Usyk vs. Fury 2, December 21. Don’t miss history in the making.”

Funnily enough, the first fight between Usyk and Fury ended in a somewhat controversial split decision.

While there were several back-and-forth rounds, Usyk nearly put Fury away late in the fight with many arguing that the bout should have been stopped after “The Gypsy King” was badly hurt while eating punches from the Ukrainian fighter, but the referee stepped between them and instead gave Fury a standing eight count.

In the end, two judges gave Usyk the fight while the third judge scored it for Fury.

While the AI-powered judging won’t play any part in the results, Al-Sheikh, who recently bought Ring Magazine, seems excited to test out the technology for the heavyweight title rematch.