The Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk boxing fight in Riyadh is now rescheduled to May 18 after the former experienced a but during his training. Usyk’s side, however, is not convinced about the reason behind the postponement of the match, claiming Fury is just “scared.” Needless to say, Fury didn’t let it pass and counter the accusations.
The undisputed heavyweight champion boxing match between Fury and Usyk, which was originally scheduled for February 17, has now been rescheduled to May 18. The postponement happened after Fury received a cut during his over his right eye. The heavyweight title unifier fight was reportedly considered being moved to June, but Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment of Saudia Arabia, confirmed the actual date.
In the recent episode of The MMA Hour, both Fury and Usyk were present alongside Alalshikh and Eglis Klimas, Usyk’s manager. Alalshikh confirmed the incident that caused the injury to Fury, but Klimas, who also served as Usyk’s translator during the interview, expressed doubt over it.
“Maybe when you want to get cut, you’re going to get cut,” Klimas said. “Because he didn’t want to fight with Usyk. He’s scared.”
Fury found the allegation bizarre, especially since it would give him a huge amount of earnings afterward. For the fighter, this alone is enough to push him into the fight.
“Why would I not want to fight for the biggest payday of my life and put 10 weeks into a training camp,” Fury fired back. “Why? Why would I not want to fight?
“[Usyk] pulled out last time. You’re a piece of s*** who’s never had a fight in his life, and you’re calling me a coward, you rat bastard.”
Alalshikh, who is the Fury vs. Usyk promoter, wants to ensure that this would be the last time the bout will be postponed. As such, the Saudi said that anyone who would pull out from the May 18 date would face a $10 million fine from their fight purse.
“If Usyk is scared, I will call for [Anthony] Joshua vs. Tyson,” Alalshikh said. “If Tyson is scared, I will call for any fighter Usyk wants, and it’s my name on this thing. We have a guarantee from both sides, and they know it now.”
