Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have gone head-to-head one day after their undisputed heavyweight world championship fight was postponed.
WBC titleholder Fury 34-0-1 (24) was forced to withdraw from his February 17 date with WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine champion Usyk 21-0 (14) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after suffering a nasty cut over his right eye in sparring.
The bout has since been rescheduled to May 18.
Both boxers appeared on The MMA Hour alongside Turki Alalashikh, chairman of General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, who are financing the fight.
Ukrainian southpaw Usyk, 37, says he took the news of Fury’s withdrawal in his stride.
“My reaction was just to smile, I am training after my sparring my team told me that Tyson fury was cut,” Usyk said. “After that, I just smiled and went back to training.”
Britain’s Fury , 35, took aim at Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas, who said to The Ring yesterday: “Tyson Fury is a fucking coward who will do anything not to face Usyk, and he asked his bitch to hit him with a frying pan in his brow. You can quote me word for word for that.
“When the news was brought to Oleksandr, he just smiled. That is all he did. He is too mentally strong to break.
“I was waiting for this moment.”
Those comments didn’t sit well with Fury.
“Why would I not want to fight if I’ve had, I’ve put 10 weeks into my last for the biggest training camp?” Fury asked Klimas. “You’re a rat piece of shit, never had a fight in your life, calling me a coward you rat bastard.
“Don’t call me a coward, I’ve been in boxing, never a coward, never back down, if anyone calls my wife a bitch I’ll take his fucking teeth out.”
Turki Alalashikh said there was nothing nefarious about the cut, adding that the same thing delayed the most famous heavyweight world title fight in history.
“If I thought Tyson is scared to fight, I would not waste my time,” Alalashikh said. “The cut happened – the same thing happened before George Foreman v Muhammad Ali. I have struck a deal with the fighters – $10m if someone escapes from the fight.”
Fury wasn’t done yet with Klimas though, interrupting the call to say: “I’m no boxing coward. How can you call me a coward? You’ve never boxed in your life. How can I be a coward with 35 professional fights?
“I’m a two-time undefeated heavyweight champion. I’m the second-longest reigning lineal champion in history. How am I the coward?”
Alalshikh claimed that Fury wanted to push ahead with the original date despite his obvious injury.
“I want to tell you something that is a secret. Tyson doesn’t want me to tell it,” Alalshikh said.
“He wanted to fight on the 17th even with the cut and I said ‘I am not crazy to put you in the ring with this cut. It will be a circus, not a fight.'”
Earlier, Fury said the cuts was simply “God’s will”.
“I was very disappointed, I’ve been in Saudi Arabia five weeks training and everything was going fantastic,” he said.
“It’s a cut that you can’t help and these things happen in camp sometimes. I know His Excellency has spent a lot of money on promotion, there’s nothing that anybody can do. It’s God’s will.”
