WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has backed a new judging system for the undisputed heavyweight title clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to avoid controversial decisions which ‘will kill boxing’.
Fury and Usyk will finally meet in the ring on May 18 as part of Riyadh Season in Saudi Arabia to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
The two were meant to go toe-to-toe on February 17 following Fury’s victory over Francis Ngannou in October 2023. However, the undisputed title fight was postponed as the Gypsy King sustained a cut in sparring.
Thankfully, the bout was rearranged soon after the incident, with both fighters now gearing up to what has the potential to be the biggest fight in recent times with a reported £100million purse on offer.
However there could be a new system in place for scoring the fight in two months’ time, with Sulaiman declaring he would like as many as six judges in place for the undisputed clash.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has called for six judges to be in place for Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk
The two heavyweights are set to do battle on May 18th after the fight was rescheduled
Sulaiman claimed that a controversial call in the highly-anticipated fight could ‘kill boxing’
‘What we saw last week in Saudi Arabia was another example of how fragile officiating worldwide continues to be,’ he told BoxingScene.
As part of the Knockout Chaos event in Saudi Arabia that saw Anthony Joshua stop Ngannou in the second round, there was an earlier controversial decision that split opinions.
Featherweight Rey Vargas retained his WBC title against Nick Ball by split draw despite the latter putting his opponent on the canvas in the eighth and 11th rounds.
Sulaiman added: ‘We saw one judge have it one way big and another judge having the other guy winning.
‘Controversy like that in the Fury-Usyk fight will kill boxing.’
The aim is thought to be that more judges will negate any bad scorecards on the night and create a more fair representation of the fight.
Sulaiman admitted to sending an emergency petition to the WBO, IBF and WBA boards as well as Fury and Usyk ahead of the fight to ask for a six-judge panel to be in place.
Part of the plan would see two judges sat on each side of the ring where broadcasters are unable to see. However, he is not thought to have received a response from either fighter.
‘Fights, especially those at this highest level, deserve this and so I’m putting forward this proposal now to all sanctioning bodies, promoters and fighters,’ added Sulaiman.
‘It has to be something we all agree on.’
The WBC featherweight title clash Nick Ball (left) and Rey Vargas went the way of the latter despite the former putting him down twice earlier this month
Both Usyk (right) and the Gypsy King (left) have been sent emergency petitions by Sulaiman, the WBC president claimed