Tyson Fury has blamed his split-decision defeat by Oleksandr Usyk on having ‘too much fun’, insisting he felt like he was in the ring with a ‘local amateur boxer’ in Saudi Arabia.

Usyk became the first undisputed world champion of the four-belt era, stripping Fury of his WBC title to write his name into the history books as one of boxing’s all-time greats.

Fury had the upper hand midway through the contest after a few closely contested opening rounds, but Usyk mounted a formidable comeback in the latter stages, dramatically claiming a 10-8 advantage in round nine by landing a series of blows on the Gypsy King as he stumbled against the ropes.

On the judges’ cards, two scored the bout 115-112 and 114-113 in favor of Usyk, while the third had it down as 114-113 to Fury, handing the Ukrainian a split-decision victory.

Speaking to Furocity in his first interview since the loss in Riyadh, the 35-year-old boxer claimed he was having ‘too much fun’ because the fight was ‘too easy’ — and ultimately paid the price.

“My problem in that fight was I probably had too much fun. It was too easy,” Fury said.

“People saying he’s a hard man to hit. I was lighting him up with three or four punch combinations, laughing at him.

“At times, it was too easy. It was like I was in there with a local amateur boxer.

“I was just enjoying it too much and messing around and paid the ultimate price in Round 9 where I got a 10-8 round and got clipped. And that’s what happens when you have too much fun.”

As each fighter probed for an opening in the early rounds, Fury enjoyed showboating in front of the crowd, attempting to get under Usyk’s skin.

The Gypsy King was speaking in his first interview since his disappointing loss in Saudi Arabia. Fury’s rematch against Usyk will take place on December 21 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, having initially been expected two months earlier in October.