Fury explains what happened in sparring which forced Usyk postponement
Tyson Fury has revealed he was left needing 11 stitches after being elbowed in a sparring incident which saw his clash with Oleksandr Usyk postponed.
Fury had been scheduled to fight the Ukranian on 17 February in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. But the Gypsy King scrubbed the bout on Friday after being injured during an incident at his training camp.
Now, the 35-year-old has disclosed the full details of the incident, which came as he took part in a sparring session. Fury revealed he was elbowed in the eye with the cut he sustained requiring treatment in hospital.
"Yesterday morning sparring, arranged to spar 12 rounds with four different guys in round five I got an elbow in the eye, been to the hospital and got 11 stitches - nothing much anything can do about cut in sparring, s*** happens," Fury told the MMA Hour.
"I was very disappointed, I've been in Saudi Arabia five weeks training and everything was going fantastic. It’s a cut that you can’t help and these things happen in camp sometimes. There's nothing that anybody can do, It’s god's will."
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While Fury was adamant that the injury meant he was unable to fight, Usyk responded with amusement. The Ukrainian said: "My reaction was just to smile, I am training after my sparring my team told me that Tyson fury was cut. After that, I just smiled and went back to training."
Fury fired back at suggestions he wanted the fight postponed, saying: "Why would I not want to fight if I've had, I've put 10 weeks into my last for the biggest training camp? You're a rat piece of s*** never had a fight in your life, calling me a coward you rat b*****."
Fury has hit back at claims the injury was not serious (Getty Images)Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the Saudi state's General Authority for Entertainment, revealed he will call on a replacement boxer to step up if either Fury or Usyk pulls out of the rescheduled date of May 18.
"We’ve delayed this fight until May 18, I’ve guaranteed both fighters 10 million if someone has escaped the fight. I also guarantee another big fight on the same night. I will make fans around the world know if someone is scared for this fight," he said.
"If Usyk is scared I will call for Joshua. Tyson, if Tyson is scared I will call for another fighter that Usyk wants. I don’t want them to fight in front of the fans but on the 18th May we will have an answer."
Fury has been assured he will be fit to take on Usyk in May despite his injury. It is the second time the bout has been postponed since the contracts for the fight were signed last year.
The Gypsy King struggled against MMA fighter Francis Ngannou in October, forcing his clash with Usyk to be pushed back from its original date of December 23. The undisputed crown in the heavyweight division has not been contested since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999.
Usyk’s team had been trying to salvage the February date by arranging Croatian Filip Hrgovic as a late replacement. But those plans has now been shelved with the quick move to reschedule the bout.
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