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.
The WBO, WBA and WBC championships, which Usyk won from Fury in their first fight, will be on the line.
Fernando Barbosa who 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.
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 trimmed 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.
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.
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.
The fight program starts at 5am tomorrow.
Source: Sky Sports
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