Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight change announced after last minute problem

A late change has been made to the judging panel for the highly anticipated rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. Due to illness, Fernando Barbosa from Miami has been replaced by Steve Weisfeld from New Jersey.

Weisfeld will join judges Patrick Morley (American) and Gerardo Martinez (Puerto Rican), with Roberto Ramirez from Puerto Rico serving as referee. .

This development comes after Turki Alalshikh, head of Saudi boxing, announced a first-of-its-kind trial using AI technology to score the fight. The AI judge will provide an unbiased and error-free assessment, although it won't influence the official outcome, which will still be determined by the three human judges at ringside should the bout go the full 12 rounds.

Alalshikh revealed the pioneering move on social media. "For the first time ever, an AI-powered judge will monitor the fight," he said. "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, #Usyk2Fury, on December 21. Don't miss history in the making."

Fury, who was beaten by Usyk in their first bout in May after a pivotal ninth round where the Ukrainian seized the fight, is gearing up for a rematch with confidence, reports Wales Online.

Despite only one judge scoring in his favour previously, he's not planning a major overhaul of his tactics. He believes minor adjustments will suffice, stating: "I'm just going to use my boxing, like I did last time. I'm not going to do anything drastic, like a total change of game plan because it's not needed."

He insisted the first fight was close enough to not warrant significant changes, adding: "If it was five, six or seven rounds the opposite way and it was a landslide, then fine. Then I'd have to change something drastically. But because it was a very close fight, I don't really need to change much. I just need to be a little bit more focused and that's it really. Why would I change something when I had control of the fight for maybe 80 per cent of it? "

Fury also highlighted his success in landing punches, saying: "I'm landing on him at will, head and body, lead right uppercuts, left hooks, right hooks to the body," and added, "Doubles at times. I don't feel I need to change anything. I don't think Usyk will change either because his key to victory has to be coming forward. He ain't going to outbox me on the back foot. It's not possible. So he has to come forward and make a fight of it."

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Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to lock horns again on December 21 with the Brit attempting to avenge his defeat by the Ukrainian in May. Victory for Fury could also set up a huge domestic showdown with bitter rival Anthony Joshua next year

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