Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk’s Saudi mega-fight to be scored by AI-powered decide
Artificial intelligence will play its role in one of the fights of the century as Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk gear up for their rematch in Saudi Arabia on Saturday
Boxing is set to truly enter the 21st century after it was confirmed Tyson Fury’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk will be judged by artificial intelligence.
In a fighting first, Saturday’s second act between two of the best heavyweights of this generation will feature a non-human arbiter. Judging is often the source of controversy in boxing, but this move may agitate some fans for an entirely different reason.
Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, confirmed the cutting-edge initiative on X. However, the Kingdom’s combat sports pioneer also announced it won’t have any effect on the official result.
“For the first time ever, an AI-powered judge will monitor the fight,” read the post. “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, 37, won the first encounter between the two in May when he glanced a split-decision victory. The result handed ‘The Gypsy King’ the first defeat of his professional career and saw Usyk become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
The decision was far from reaching the kind of controversy witnessed in some of boxing’s most contentious results. That being said, the introduction of AI as part of the sport’s judgement has divided opinion online.
Who do you think will win the Fury vs Usyk rematch? Let us know in the comments section below.
Boxing commentator Adam Smith appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show and expressed support for the innovation. He referred to Artur Beterbiev’s highly controversial decision win over Dmitry Bivol in October and said he thought it was “really good” to see boxing evolve – even if only on a trial basis.
“AI plus combat sports = the perfect match! Seeing this on the world stage is epic,” wrote one intrigued fan. Another added: “This is a step in the right direction. More and more AI-based judging/refereeing should be integrated into sports like boxing with well-defined rules. Excited to see how this one judges.”
Not all fight fans were convinced, however, as one doubter replied: “A short summary: We will make sure Fury wins this bout so we get the trilogy.”
