Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s pre-fight build-up was taken to another level last night as the Brit’s dad headbutted a member of his rival’s team.
The heavyweight duo will compete in the first undisputed bout in the new four-belt era of boxing on Saturday night. They are both set to earn monster purses for taking the event to Saudi Arabia, where purses are considerably higher than the UK or USA.
But the feud between the pair may be edging towards going too far as Tyson Fury’s dad John yesterday emerged from an altercation with a member of Usyk’s team. Stanislav Stepchuk appeared to chant in favour of the Ukrainian, and was immediately hit with an headbutt by the 59-year-old.
John Fury left bleeding as he headbutts Oleksandr Usyk teammate ahead of boxing showdown
As members of Fury and Usyk’s teams were meeting in Riyadh yesterday, an altercation appeared to take place between the WBC champion’s dad and a member of his rival’s team. The Brit seemed to throw an headbutt, and while Stepchuk didn’t react much, the pair both had blood on their heads.
John Fury is a former boxer in his own right, but never achieved the heights of his sons Tyson and Tommy. His elder son is a two-time world champion and has won every belt available, while his younger brother is a massive pay-per-view draw for his celebrity bouts with the likes of KSI and Jake Paul.
However, that hasn’t stopped ‘Big John’ from making himself a noteworthy character in the boxing world. And with just days to go until the biggest boxing fight of a generation, he has managed to steal away the headlines with his latest antics.
UFC legend Michael Bisping slams John Fury over headbutt incident
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who is from the same area as the Fury family in Northern England, was not a fan of the move. The Brit has long been an admirer of Tyson Fury, but believes that John has gone too far in attempting to steal attention from his sons.
“John Fury, I don’t want to say this but I kind of have to,” Bisping said during a YouTube video about the incident. “He’s got to try and insert himself into it at all times. Every time Tyson fights, John Fury is there, when Ngannou and Tyson Fury were squaring off he was there with his shirt off!
“Jesus Christ, just take a back seat and let your son take the spotlight, not talking s***. I do find him ery entertaining but there’s a line and you don’t really cross it. This is a huge moment for Tyson Fury, if he can go out there and beat Usyk he’d be the first person to do so.
“He could be the first person to unify the belts in 25 years, it would be just unbelievable. Don’t tarnish that by acting like a d***head all fight week. It’s the first day of fight week and he’s already headbutting people in the hotel or wherever it was. Look, it’s not a good start.”
John Fury apologises for headbutting Oleksandr Usyk teammate
For his part, Fury did apologise for the incident, making a statement declaring his view of what had happened. He claimed that Stepchuk was being a “disrespectful fella”, and noted that tensions are high as the two fighters continue their collision course.
“Sincere apologies to everybody involved,” Fury said in a prepared statement. “It’s just the way we are. Emotions and tensions are running high. He was a very disrespectful fella. If you come close in a fighting man’s space, you’re gonna cop for something.
“What matters to me is respect for my son and he wasn’t showing any of it. He mentioned my son and that was it, so he had to have it. It doesn’t bother me [bleeding], it’s what we live for, we’re fighting people. That’s a regular occurrence to me.”
Oleksandr Usyk teammate reacts to John Fury headbutt
Stepchuk did the media rounds following the incident, although he appeared to have limited English and required a translator to speak to the press. He claimed that it was “not a lot of conflict” and played down what happened.
“We just shouted the name of Oleksandr Usyk and John Fury was mad about it and did what he does,” he said via a translator to Boxing News. “We didn’t offend him.
“Because he is nervous and not stable in his emotions we think that he is nervous and that is weakness for him. I didn’t know about the entire team but I will be ready if it happens again, I will defend myself.”
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