Usyk vs Fury 2: Rival camps deadlocked in replacement judge dispute ahead of heavyweight championship fight

With just one day to go before Tyson Fury's world heavyweight championship clash with Oleksandr Usyk, the rival camps are locked in a dispute over a replacement official and the length of the former champion's beard.

Usyk's rematch with Britain's Fury is due to take place this Saturday on a Riyadh Season bill live on Sky Sports Box Office.

The WBO, WBA and WBC championships, which Usyk won from Fury in their first fight, will be on the line.

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Fernando Barbosa had been due to be one of the three judges on fight night but he was unable to travel to Riyadh due to illness.

Two officials, Steve Weisfeld and Ignacio Robles, have been flown in to replace him. But the respective fighter teams are split on which judge should be used on fight night, with promoter Frank Warren suggesting a coin toss should settle the issue.

It is a dispute that the local commission will have to find a way to resolve.

Warren told Sky Sports: "One of the judges has taken ill of the three that were decided upon.

"There are two standby judges, both of them are flying in and we've got to decide which one it's going to be.

"We want one of them and the other camp wants the other, so I've suggested we spin a coin."

Warren believes a resolution will eventually be found. "This will get sorted. Use a bit of common sense and actually both camps are very, very professional and know what they have to do," he said.

The other key points of contention at Friday's rules meeting were the length of Fury's beard, the position of the shorts and kissing a cross in the corner.

These might sound like minor subjects but they are major issues for the rival teams.

In professional boxing beards normally have to be kept trim and of a certain length, so a stubbled chin for instance can't be used to scrape against a cut or inflict further damage. In this instance Usyk's team queried whether Fury's full beard could actually cushion a blow.

The decision was made in Fury's favour - he will not be obligated to shave it off for the fight.

Usyk's camp are adamant however that it should be cut. Promoter Alex Krassyuk told Sky Sports: "Beard rule is grossly violated. WBC rules clearly say: 'A boxer may spouse a trimmed beard and/or moustache as long as, in the discretion of the commission and the supervisor, the facial hair thickness does not: (1) cushion or in any way affect the impact or trajectory of punches; or (2) cause cuts or abrasions to his rival.'

"So," Krassyuk continued, "Tyson's beard has to be trimmed. We will push it further."

However the WBC has "no issue" with the length of Fury's beard.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told Sky Sports: "There's a regulation and the boxing commission inspected him and there is no issue."

He added: "Mind games. These are the mind games for a big fight."

Warren noted: "He has a beard and there's been a lot of fighters over the years who've fought with beards, and that's it."

In another insight into Fury's approach, his team sought clarity that any punches landed below the navel would be considered low blows regardless of the position of the beltline of the shorts and protective cup.

That suggests the Briton will be assaulting the body.

Warren explained: "It's what is considered to be a low blow or not.

"Anything below the navel is a low blow and a lot of fighters wear their shorts higher and that sometimes leads to what you could say confusion, as happened with Usyk and Daniel Dubois.

"There was a problem in that fight and we don't want that happening and nor does the other side, so the judge has made it very clear - which the judge in that previous fight did not make clear, he didn't come and give any instructions on it in the boxers' dressing rooms - to ensure that everybody understands this clarification and we know what a low blow is."

Usyk famously kissed a cross in the corner during the first fight and went out to deliver an inspired performance. But Fury's team don't want a "foreign object" in any corner, in order to eliminate any potential doubt and reduce online speculation.

Warren said: "After the fight there was a lot of speculation, they weren't sure what it was. We just cut through it all. If there's anything that is used other than water that goes to the fighter's lips, then the inspector will take it away and hold it and if anything is seen to be not correct then they'll deal with it, test it, whatever that may be, what they have to do."

Navel gazing

Sky Sports boxing expert and world-title challenger Matthew Macklin explains why the beltline of the shorts and the position of the navel came under fierce discussion at the rules meeting.

"I think, get into the referee's mind to unconsciously put that pressure on him to be on Usyk's case or Fury's case, whichever way it is," Macklin said.

"I do think Fury will target the body more, he's going to be a lot more aggressive in this fight. I think he's going to approach it with a similar mindset that he did the Deontay Wilder rematch.

"How he makes that happen is going to be different because obviously Usyk is a southpaw, he's lighter on his feet, he's not 6ft 7ins, he's more likely to come inside the shots… so how Fury achieves that I'm not so sure, it's going to be different.

"But from a mindset, attitude point of view, I think very much going to be seek and destroy.

"Coming over here I thought this fight was going to be split decision either way, similar to last time. Now I think this fight ends inside the distance one way or the other. Either Fury will get to him or he'll run out of steam trying to, and he'll get done late himself."

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury's huge heavyweight rematch will be live on Saturday December 21 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book Usyk v Fury 2 now!

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