VAR Could Be Introduced For Fury Vs. Usyk
Spencer Oliver has suggested that VAR could be used for the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
The technology has already been in force in football after it was introduced in 2019. While there are still rumblings over its usefulness, VAR has helped correct decisions when it has been implemented correctly, that being for clear and obvious decisions.
The technology could allow referees to make the correct decision. This is when there is a debate over whether a shot was a low blow or if there was a legitimate knockdown. The WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed that boxing must implement this technology. This has lead Spencer to believe that the Fury-Usyk bout could be the perfect time to introduce it.
Introduction Of VAR
“I believe that they want to implement that in the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight. They’re talking about video replays etc., to help them come to the correct decision, like VAR. I think that we sometimes see illegal blows going, it causes cuts and what not and then the guy will win the fight,” Oliver said
Boxing has already produced some major talking points recently, justifying a possible use of VAR. Usyk’s fight with Daniel Dubois touched upon one of boxing’s controversial moments: whether a shot was a low blow. The Ukrainian was dropped by Dubois in the fifth round, only for the referee to deem it a low blow.
This allowed Usyk five minutes to recover. That prevented Dubois from becoming the Unified Heavyweight Champion of the World. Usyk would then stop Dubois in the ninth round. After the fight, the boxing community was divided over whether it was a low blow.
Frank Warren responded by lodging an appeal with the WBA to overturn the decision and get a rematch. Despite those attempts, it failed to succeed. This is where VAR could be useful to clear up any grey areas.
Will It Work?
“That’s a great example. He wouldn’t have got the five minute break on the floor in between the rounds and Dubois lost his momentum then. Dubois was fired up, he was ready to go but that may have changed the fight. “The referee has allowed the five-minute break, in the five-minute break then say, ‘Woah, that wasn’t a low-blow, get him on with it.’ They overrule it basically,” Oliver added
But to be accepted, it must be implemented in a way that does not disrupt the flow of boxing. Action replays will take time, giving boxers more time to recover as they wait for the decision. This will make sense if any decision is reviewed and looked at by the end of the round once the boxers have taken their seats. And yet, doing that creates more uncertainty for the fighter, who will only discover his fate once the round ends. So, for now, there are still issues that need resolving.
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