Boxing fans label judges 'embarrassing' after official Fury v Usyk scorecards are revealed

Boxing fans who've seen the scorecard from the fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury have been wondering whether the judges were watching the same fight.

Usyk defeated Fury by split decision to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, so while two of the judges thought he was the better boxer on the night a third disagreed.

Fury certainly seems to have thought he was the winner, having received backlash for controversial comments he made in the aftermath of his defeat at Usyk's hands.

He said: "I believe I won that fight. And I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority of them.

"I believe we both put on a good fight - best we could do. And, you know, his country is at war. People are siding with the country at war. Make no mistake, I won that fight, in my opinion."

Fury might think that, but two out of the three judges disagreed as the fight was scored 115-112 to Usyk, 114-113 to Fury and 114-113 to Usyk.

It was a split decision in Usyk's favour, but some boxing fans think the judges gave an 'embarrassing' verdict for having it be so close.

People are surprised not that Usyk was named the victor, but that it was so close as to be a split decision.

talkSPORT journalist Michael Benson posted a picture of the scorecard on social media, and people started picking it apart immediately.

Reacting on social media, a fan remarked: “Outrageous scorecards again. Never a split decision in a million years. Thank God Usyk got the decision.”

Oleksandr Usyk SD Tyson Fury official judges' scorecards… pic.twitter.com/IACOHyuhr2

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 18, 2024

While another tweeted: “Fury never won round 2 & 12 they tried to rob Usyk but failed.”

A third fan added: “Usyk robbed it should have been a majority decision, if itvwas in the UK he would have been robbed 100%.”

Others said it was 'ridiculous' that one of the judges had Fury down as the winner, and some pointed to certain rounds scored in Fury's favour, which they disputed.

Of all the rounds in the fight, the second, eleventh and twelfth being given to Fury by certain judges seemed to be the most controversial.

However, there were some boxing fans who largely agreed with the verdict, saying they 'don't have many arguments here' and that while Fury 'really dominated the middle rounds' he ultimately lost.

Usyk won 1,2,8,9,10,11,12 and had a 10-8 in the 9th. Embarassing judges but not surprised in the corrupt sport of boxing

— AWUREDO (@AOUREDOO) May 18, 2024

They also said that a 'KD decided the fight', referring to a moment at the end of the ninth round where Usyk had Fury staggering against the ropes and eventually saved by the bell, though it was judged that the ropes were keeping him on his feet.

Fury faced accusations of showboating in the early stages of the fight, while he and Usyk are expected to step back into the ring for a rematch in October.

However, it likely won't be for the undisputed crown as Usyk is expected to have to give that up soon for facing Fury instead of the IBF's mandatory challenger.