John Fury was left bleeding from his forehead. Photo: PA/Nick Potts
Tyson Fury's father was left bleeding from his forehead after he gored camp member Oleksandr Usyk ahead of the undisputed heavyweight boxing bout in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Security Officers had to intervene when horrific scenes unfolded at the hotel where a media event was being held. A week of fights that will culminate in a fight for a purse of £116 million.
John Fury, the British boxer's 59-year-old father, exchanged insults with members of Usyk's team before jabbing his forehead at one of them. one of them is Stanislav Stepchuk (see video below).
Fury Sr then walked away injured as insults continued to be exchanged.
Usyk and his promoter Alex Krasyuk called for calm as anger threatened to boil over -under control.
“It was bad behavior. from Fury's team,» Usyk told DAZN's The Stomping Ground, before insisting the incident won't affect him when it comes time to climb over the ropes. «My focus is on the fight, the problem came from Team Fury.»
The quarrel occurred after those accompanying the two fighters began chanting across the hall to each other — “Usyk, Usyk” on one side and “Fury, Fury” from a distance of 25 meters. The disgusting episode was witnessed by more than 100 journalists and dozens of camera crews who were there to record hours of interviews.
The elder Fury, blood streaming down his face, shouted: “Furies never run.” » and «let's go, let's go.»
After cleaning up the cut and donning a Fury vs Usyk-style baseball cap, John Fury told Telegraph Sport: “There's always a reason for what I do. They needed to know what they were facing. They said something about my son, insulted him.
«They'll go up against it on Saturday night, they're going to have a tough fight and Tyson is going to throw a punch at him.
< p>«What happened happened and I respect the Ukrainians and Alex Krasyuk subsequently apologized.»
< p>«What happened happened and I respect the Ukrainians and Alex Krasyuk subsequently apologized.» p> 
Stanislav Stepchuk's forehead (right) appears to have been marked after an altercation with Fury Sr. Photo: PA/Nick Potts
However, Krasyuk told reporters that he wants Fury Sr. to apologize for his actions. “At first I thought one of our guys did it, and then I saw the video and it’s the other way around, so am I going to have to take my apology back or what?” Krasyuk said.
«What should I do? It was his wrong behavior. Therefore, I think it would be right if he brought [an apology], because such behavior does not give a good impression of us to the rest of the world.
“This is a classic sport. This is a martial arts diamond. And people should know that boxing is a sport of smart people, so [he should apologize]. It's his business, but let the world know that we are smart people.»
Tyson Fury, who was in a side room during the broadcast interview, asked his father: «What happened to you, you stupid moron?» , seeing his bloodied face, but otherwise the incident did not alarm him.
“I didn’t see anything, I was in the room,” the boxer said. “But I’m not here for all that, I’m here to finish my work, go home and relax. They do what they do, I've definitely seen worse than a cut on the head.»
The incident lit the fire for the fight of the century, which featured an undisputed title on the line for the first time in 25 years. However, the fight is not unprecedented — remember the altercation at a press conference between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in New York in 2002, which caused their fight to be postponed for seven months. Tyson later admitted to biting Lewis on the leg and had to pay him almost £270,000.
Lewis, the sport's last undisputed heavyweight champion in 1999, defeated Tyson by knockout in the eighth round in June 2002.< /p>
Fury and Usyk were due to meet in February, but during sparring the Briton suffered a cut above right eye.
This time, Fury is putting his World Boxing Council title on the line, while Usyk hopes to retain the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Organization, International Boxing Federation and Ring Magazine belts.
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Fury achieved a controversial points win over Francis Ngannou last October, but he looks in better shape this week .
It is understood the self-proclaimed «Gypsy King» will earn £80 million, including Usyk's wallet. If Fury beats Usyk, the plan is to have another fight with the Ukrainian later this summer and then, according to his promoter Frank Warren: «We'll put Tyson and Joshua in the ring.» in February or March 2025, although things could change very quickly.»
But Fury warned: «If AJ thinks he wants to fight me for the titles, he'll have to wait. Usyk and I have a contract for a rematch in September, regardless of who wins.
“With all the money available to us for these two fights, why should I give up the double bubble? Possibly a triple bubble next year at Wembley if Joshua doesn't lose before then.»
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