A SHOCK proposal to increase the number of judges scoring Tyson Fury’s showdown with Oleksandr Usyk has been rejected.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman made a stunning call for the number of ringside officials to be increased from three to SIX earlier this year.
Tyson Fury faces Oleksandr Usyk for all the heavyweight marbles on May 18Credit: EPA
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman wanted to implement six judges for the historic showdownCredit: REUTERS
Bob Arum has revealed the proposal has been rejectedCredit: Getty
The head-honcho of the Mexican sanctioning body demanded the addition of more judges to ensure next month’s undisputed title fight isn’t ruined by a dodgy scorecard.
And he even went as far as to issue an “emergency petition” to all those involved.
But the proposal has been rejected due to fears over potential teething problems marring the biggest heavyweight fight in nearly 25 years.
Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum told Boxing Scene: “You don’t put in something like that for the first time dealing with a major fight from the standpoint of visibility and importance.
“Maybe six judges are better than three. I doubt that, but maybe.
“Nobody knows because it hasn’t been done.
“But at least you experiment with that with fights that are not as prominent.”
Arum, 92, isn’t completely against the idea but believes it should be trialled out in a fight of significantly less magnitude.
He said: “With all due respect to my friend Mauricio – who’s a really good guy.
“[He] loves the sport of boxing and has done a great job with the WBC – I wouldn’t do it for this fight.
“I don’t believe the judging becomes better because you have six judges rather than three.”
The winner of Fury vs Usyk will be crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion in nearly 25 years, a title the former believes he’ll win with ease.
He said: “If I didn’t train a day for this fight and was 25 stone and drank 15 pints of Peroni the night before, I would still beat him the next day.
“What would he do, just jib and jab me?
“I would need at least 15 pints of Peroni for a proper ding dong.”
