Last-minute change made to Fury vs Usyk 2 and it could have major impact on fight

A last-minute change to this weekend's much-anticipated rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk has been made.

The self-proclaimed 'Gypsy King' will take on Usyk for the WBC, WBA and WBO titles in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 21.

Back in May, Usyk became the first four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion with a split-decision win over Fury as two judges handed Usyk the victory (115-112 and 114-113).

Manuel Oliver Palermo had it 115-112 in favour of Usyk while Mike Fitzgerald scored it 114-113, also in favour of the Ukrainian. Craig Metcalfe, however, scored the fight 114-113 to Fury.

So who will be the judges this time around? It was revealed earlier this year that the three judges scoring the contest are Puerto Rico's Gerardo Martinez, as well as America's Pat Morley and Fernando Barbosa.

But in a last-minute change to proceedings, Barbosa has pulled out due to illness, according to boxing journalist Dan Rafael, who claims Steve Weisfeld from the United States will take his place.

Out of the line-up, Weisfeld is the only person to have judged either fighter having been involved in Usyk's first victory over Anthony Joshua back in 2021. He also judged Fury's trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder later that year.

Meanwhile, a fourth judge, powered by artificial intelligence, will also score the bout as part of an experiment.

Turki Alalshikh, who is the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced on Tuesday afternoon that an AI judge will be used for the fight, which promises to be 'free from bias and human error'.

He wrote on social media: "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, #Usyk2Fury, on December 21. Don’t miss history in the making."

Fury will face Usyk in a much-anticipated rematch on December 21. Image credit: Getty

How to watch Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk

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To watch Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk go head to head, there are three options:

1.) You can watch the rematch on DAZN with no subscription required. All you need to do is buy the PPV for £24.99 and you will automatically get a seven-day free trial which you can later cancel to stop the subscription from rolling over. You’ll be able to stream the match on a range of devices including PlayStation, Chromecast, and Smart TV. If you do decide to roll over your free trial, you’ll move onto a monthly plan costing £24.99 per month and get access to over 150 fights every year, with the option to cancel with 30 days’ notice.

2.) You can also tune in live on Sky Sports Box Office (Sky channel 491). The event is priced at £24.95 for Sky customers in the UK and $27.95 if you’re based in the Republic of Ireland. Sadly Sky does not offer free trials, but Sky subscribers can book the match here and if you’re new to Sky, you can sign up here.

3.) Finally, you can watch the fight on TNT Sports with a Prime Video subscription (free for the first month then £8.99/ month), provided you have discovery+ (from £3.99/ month) as part of your subscription. If you don't fancy shelling out, you can simply cancel your subscription after the first month.