WBC eyeing huge rule changes for Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk to avoid "controversy" in outcome
WBC has reportedly offered rule changes for the highly anticipated bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
The undisputed heavyweight championship bout between Fury and Usyk is widely regarded as the biggest fight in boxing as of today. While the two were scheduled to fight this month in February, the bout was delayed until May 18 after 'The Gypsy King' sustained a cut in sparring.
Ahead of the highly anticipated undisputed heavyweight championship, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has offered to change the rules in an attempt to avoid controversy. During a recent interview with Sky Sports, he said:
"We had proposed to use five judges or six judges. However, that was not considered. It did not happen. I would still recommend [it]... You have two judges with a difficult fight and then one round can shift the whole result. But if you have more officials then the possibility of a wrong score goes to a minimum... That's the only intention to make sure there's no controversy. Now we have the biggest fight in 25 years in the heavyweight division. So we have to try to do our best."
He added:
"I believe [video replays] will happen, now that the fight has been postponed until May 18, three months from now, we will look into it... To have the absolute certainty that there will not be a controversy. That in a fight of this magnitude would be absolutely unacceptable."
Eddie Hearn wants Tyson Fury to beat Oleksandr Usyk
Eddie Hearn and Tyson Fury have had their fair share of disagreements over the years. However, that hasn't made Hearn lose his respect for 'The Gypsy King' and what he has accomplished in the sport.
During a recent interview with IFL TV, Hearn was asked about Fury vs. Usyk. The head of Matchroom Boxing admitted that despite his long feud with the British boxer, he will be rooting for him on May 18. He said:
“I know that we’ve had our back and forths over the years, but I do have a lot of respect for him... I respect what he’s done. I respect him as a fighter. He’s a Brit, I want him to win.... I want Tyson Fury, a British fighter, to win that fight and go down as a real great."
Check out his comments below (10:00):