Oleksandr Usyk closed out 2024 in boxing on a grand note by delivering his second points decision victory of the year over Tyson Fury — with the Ukrainian’s latest win coming unanimously.
But despite the unified heavyweight crown staying put, the epic December rematch offered a wrinkle that could become a staple in boxing bouts. Usyk vs. Fury 2 included an Artificial Intelligence judge.
The fight’s three traditional judges scored the bout 116-112 all in favor of Usyk, while the AI judge generated a score of 118-112 for the Ukrainian, crediting the champ’s motor and busier work rate, while only giving Fury the first, second, fifth and 12 rounds.
And that brings us to DAZN’s fourth New Year’s Resolution for boxing in 2025:
For AI judging, with refinement and further tinkering, to possibly become a permanent fixture in boxing
One can argue that the AI judge rendering of a score of 118-112 in favor of Usyk was a tad wide and that the bout was closer.
However, the AI judge scored the decision for the right fighter and that’s a solid start to build off of.
How many times have we all watched a fight go the full distance with a clear winner, only for a judge or judges to inexplicably see the bout the other way? It happens far too often in boxing, souring the sweet science as an indelible stain on the sport.
One of the most egregious examples of this came last July when O’Shaquie Foster clearly dominated Robson Conceição only for judges inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey to award the split-decision to Conceição, crowning him the new WBC junior lightweight world champion. Judges scored it 116-112 for Conceição, 116-112 for Foster and 115-113 for Conceição. How two judges declared the Brazilian the winner, despite Foster outlanding him 25 percent to 11 percent in a clear boxing clinic was a real headscratcher.
“Not gonna lie, boys worked too hard to get it stolen from me like that,” Foster wrote on his social media following the absurd verdict.
The shock of the inexplicable decision sent reverberations through the boxing community.
Former welterweight world champion Shawn Porter chimed in during his podcast: "People want the judging in boxing to change. It's not going to change because the people that are around the ring aren't people that have been in the ring."
Fortunately, Foster had a chance to avenge that asterisk-laden loss and he did, defeating Conceição via split-decision to regain his WBC junior lightweight world title in November. Boxing judges do get the scores right plenty, too.
But to avoid judging incompetency and the subsequent furor it causes, AI judging could be a useful tool. Certainly, it will need refinement and tinkering along the way.
A small sample size of the refinement needed was when I recently tested ChatGPT’s fact-checking capabilities by saying “list the only male boxers to win undisputed championships in two different weight classes.”
It incorrectly responded: “As of now, no male boxer has ever won undisputed championships in two different weight classes in the modern four-belt era.”
When I informed ChatGPT that its response was “not accurate” and that “Terence Crawford did it,” it replied “you’re absolutely correct,” but then listed Crawford as the only male boxer to win undisputed in two different weight classes.
That prompted me to say that “also, Oleksandr Usyk” did it to which ChatGPT replied “you’re absolutely correct again!”
When I tacked on: “also, Naoya Inoue,” the program offered “apologies for the earlier oversight.”
So there’s ways to go with AI, especially if it’s being used a real-time scoring method.
However, the fact that the AI judge delivered a winning score for the right fighter in Usyk is something positive that the sport can build from if it’s to further incorporate AI in its decisions.
Prior to the Usyk-Fury rematch, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh took to his X social media account and called the AI judging "an experimental AI scoring system,” while adding "let’s see how this experiment unfolds."
With updates and improvements, AI judging can become a permanent fixture in boxing.
If it saves us from the embarrassment and heartbreak of watching a clear winner get denied, AI judging might need a permanent seat for more prize fights in the sweet science soon.
With refinement and tinkering, it's something at least to consider.