Tyson Fury believes he did enough against Oleksandr Usyk to avenge his first defeat, even if the jury didn’t see it that way.

In another hard-fought 12-round fight, Usyk got the better of Fury again on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All three judges scored the fight 116-112 in Usyk’s favor, making the Ukrainian heavyweight star 2-0 in her series after winning a split decision against Fury last May.

Fury spoke to reporters at a post-fight press conference and is confident that he has not only beaten Usyk in the rematch but should also be the one to take a 2-0 lead.

“I was pretty confident,” Fury said. “I thought I won that fight again. I think I’ve ‘Larry Holmes’d’ here. I thought I won both fights, but then again I went home with two losses on my record now, so there’s not much I can do about it. I can just fight my heart out and do my best.

“But again, until the day I die, I will always believe that I won this fight.”

From Fury’s perspective, he was the one who put more pressure on the action over the course of the 36-minute contest. For most of the fight, Fury tried to create distance with his long jab and then punish Usyk with uppercuts to the inside. However, Usyk often worked past Fury’s defenses and landed hard headshots inside, and while he wasn’t nearly as close to finishing Fury as he was in the ninth round of their first fight, the stats on the screen gave Usyk the edge in landing powerful punches .

Fury even acknowledged that a few rounds may have looked close in the eyes of the judges, and he didn’t think there was any point in complaining about the results.

“I was on the front all night, landing body and head,” Fury said. “Listen, sometimes it’s hard to score.”

“(Queensbury Promotions) Frank (Warren) had me out for three or four rounds, a lot of people had me at least two. I just don’t know. Listen, it is what it is. I won’t cry over spilled milk, it happened now. I know boxing, I’ve been doing it my whole life, you can’t change decisions, but I just always feel a bit overwhelmed. Not a little, a lot actually, but I think if you don’t get the knockout, here’s what happens. You can’t guarantee a win.”

When a reporter – who identified himself as being from Usyk’s native Ukraine – asked if Fury could feel Usyk’s fighting spirit in the ring, “The Gypsy King” responded with amusement.

“I didn’t sense a ghost,” Fury said. “I felt a little Christmas spirit and I think he got a little Christmas present from the judges.”

As for his plans for the future, Fury was non-committal, although a long-awaited clash with fellow British heavyweight Anthony Joshua appears likely. Fury wants to rest for now and wait until 2025 before making any decisions.

“Next thing I’m going to do is go home and take some time off. Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Who knows? We’ll talk about that next year.”