Fury vs Usyk heavyweight boxing championship to be the first ever judged by AI

Recent advancements in sports technology have taken an unprecedented turn as artificial intelligence prepares to make its debut in professional boxing judging during the highly anticipated Fury vs Usyk 2 heavyweight title fight.

The groundbreaking development: The upcoming heavyweight championship rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will be the first boxing match to incorporate an AI judge, marking a significant shift in combat sports officiating.

• The AI judging system, introduced by Ring Magazine owner Turki Alalshikh, is being promoted as a solution “free from bias and human error”
• While the technology provider hasn’t been officially confirmed, reports suggest it could be Jabbr, a company with experience in AI-powered combat sports analytics
• The AI judge will not impact official scoring for this fight but serves as a trial run for potential future implementation

Technical implementation and challenges: Boxing scoring presents unique complexities that distinguish it from other sports’ automated officiating systems.

• Unlike soccer’s VAR system or automated offside decisions, boxing judging involves subjective elements such as fighter intent and style
• The AI model’s training data and underlying algorithms could potentially favor certain fighting styles, raising concerns about fairness
• Questions remain about how the system will interpret nuanced aspects of boxing that traditionally rely on human judgment

Current context: The first Fury-Usyk bout ended in a split decision victory for Usyk, highlighting the ongoing debates around boxing scoring.

• Usyk won with scores of 115-112, 114-113, while one judge scored it 114-113 for Fury
• The upcoming rematch has oddsmakers slightly favoring Fury, though experts consider the match-up extremely close
• This experimental AI implementation comes amid widespread criticism of human judging errors in professional boxing

Future implications: The integration of AI in boxing scoring could reshape the sport’s fundamental aspects and athlete behavior.

• Athletes might adapt their fighting styles to cater to AI scoring preferences rather than traditional boxing principles
• A hybrid approach combining AI-powered monitoring of human judges’ scorecards could emerge as a compromise solution
• This experiment could set a precedent for how combat sports incorporate artificial intelligence into officiating

Looking beyond the hype: While AI judging represents an innovative approach to addressing scoring controversies, its implementation raises important questions about preserving the sport’s essential human elements while leveraging technological advantages to enhance fairness and accuracy.