Tyson Fury has said he is “absolutely devastated” after a “freak” sparring injury forced him to postpone his fight against Oleksandr Usyk, the winner of which will be crowned undisputed heavyweight champion.
The British boxer, the WBC champion, was scheduled to meet his Ukrainian opponent, who holds the WBO, WBA and IBF belts, in Riyadh, later this month.
Fight promoters, Queensberry Promotions, published a picture of Fury showing a cut over his right eye.
Image: Tyson Fury suffered a ‘freak cut’ during a sparring session. File pic: PA
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On X, TalkSPORT boxing editor, Michael Benson, posted what was said to be “leaked” footage of the incident, in which Fury is hit by his sparring partner and promptly walks away, touching the right side of his head.
Queensberry said in a statement that a “freak cut” requiring “urgent medical attention and significant stitching” opened up above Fury’s right eye during a sparring session at his training camp in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Fury said in the same statement: “I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such a superb condition.
“I feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed.
“I can only apologise to everyone affected.”
He said on Instagram, alongside a selfie: “Can’t help getting injured in sparring but what I can say was Usyk was in trouble. I am in fantastic shape.”
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Fury sustained the cut during a sparring session with Croatian southpaw Agron Smakici, Sky Sports understands.
He had previously suffered a gaping cut around his right eye following a bloody points win over Otto Wallin in September 2019.
A Queensberry Promotions spokesperson said on X: “Whilst this is still breaking news it is clearly a massive disappointment, after the work that has been done by so many people to finally deliver the historic event to the world.
Image: Fury and Usyk at a pre-fight news conference in London in November. Pic: Reuters
“Once the doctors have appraised Tyson’s eye, we will have a better idea of the period of recovery needed.
The aim, Queensberry said, is to “reschedule the fight as soon as possible”.
The winner of the bout stood to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999 and the first in the four-belt era.
Anthony Joshua has said a match with Tyson Fury “is part of God’s plan in my life”.
The 34-year-old said he believes he is “at the top” of heavyweight boxing.
“I never left,” Joshua told Sky News. “I’ll always be, from the minute I lace up these gloves ’till now.
“I’ve managed to keep my name at the top of the amateur scene and the professional scene. It’s just the truth. Just how it is. And I think it’ll be that way until I don’t want to fight anymore.”
Image: Tyson Fury in October
The two-time world champion said “God has his plans” when asked if he thought he would ever fight Tyson Fury. “And I’m sure Tyson Furyis part of God’s plan in my life.”
Joshua said he hoped he would be able to fight again in the UK soon. “Maybe the fight after this one,” he said.
“We’ll probably make a return to the UK because especially at Riyadh, the season will be done. So yeah, we’ll have a good window where we can get some fights in in the UK, possibly.”
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Asked if belts still matter, he said: “You will never know what it’s like and what it feels like to be a champion until you become one.
“And for me, belts will always matter because it’s something that you set your goals out to achieve as a little kid.
“And if you’re like a tennis fan, you win a trophy, if you’re a footballer you win a trophy, boxing you win a title, it’s quite similar across all sports it’s like, what’s the prize at the end?
“And I think boxing will always, even though we want to see the fights, the title in boxing will always be prestige.”
Joshua will fight former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on 8 March.
The Tyson Fury versus Oleksandr Usyk fight is now off.
Talks to make the undisputed heavyweight title fight happen have failed to reach a conclusion, Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk confirmed to Sky Sports News.
Usyk will now look to make a defence of his heavyweight titles against WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois.
“I will try to express how disappointed I am, not just for Usyk, not just for this fight not happening but for all boxing fans around the world. Because this is probably the most anticipated fight, the most awaited fight, the most wanted one, not just from the fans but from our side as well,” Krassyuk told Sky Sports.
“I would love to see this fight. I would love to make it happen as the promoter. Usyk would love to be part of such a huge fight, we all are willing, we are thirsty to make it happen. Of course we are going to use each and every effort, if there is any. But from my perspective I don’t believe it’s possible.”
Egis Klimas, Usyk’s manager, has questioned whether Fury and his team genuinely wanted the fight in April.
“The Usyk side pulled out of further negotiations as the Fury side never had enough [and wanted] to pull everything and all rights to their side,” Klimas told Sky Sports.
“I don’t want to go into details as all negotiations were confidential but I will tell you one thing, when a fighter doesn’t want to fight he overprices himself knowing that the fight won’t happen.
“They most likely forgot that Usyk is holding the majority of belts in the heavyweight division and Tyson just has one.
“They claimed Tyson is a face and must have all the rights, but look at statistics on pay-per-view with Tyson v Chisora and Usyk v Chisora and then tell me who is who?”
Sky Sports has approached Fury’s UK and US promoters for comment.
Image: British boxer Tyson Fury celebrates in the ring after his victory over Vladimir Klitschko in 2015
Frank Warren, Fury’s UK promoter, has told TalkSportsradio that he believes the negotiations can be salvaged.
But Krassyuk responded that the issue around a rematch clause was just the final straw for those talks to collapse.
“They did as much as we did. They tried hard. We all tried to make it happen,” Krassyuk told Sky Sports “[The] rematch clause was just the point where it all exploded.
“The discussion about the rematch split was just the point where Usyk was fed up with everything. He said, ‘How many more times do I have to bow my head in front of Tyson. Why should I do this? It’s enough. Either he accepts what I say or I leave’. Tyson did not accept it and he left.”
Krassyuk did say a one-fight deal could still be “acceptable, but the split should not be 70/30.”
Image: Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk
The undisputed championship, he insisted, was their “highest priority”.
“The money that was anticipated for Usyk in this fight was not even close to what Usyk earned in his last fight. It’s definitely not Usyk’s payday and it’s definitely not his attempt to get more money. It’s his attempt to get the WBC belt,” Krassyuk said.
“We will do our best to deliver this fight to the fans,” he added. “With Usyk, we’ve been together since 2013. We went through hell, through fire, through water, through everything. We never had any troubles with our opponents, we were always flexible.”
The Fury v Usyk fight would have been one of the most significant contests in world boxing.
Between them, they hold all four of the major heavyweight world titles.
Fury, who first became a unified world champion when he sensationally defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, never lost those titles in the ring but they became vacant when he did not box for more than two years.
Image: Ukraine’s Wladimir Klitschko (L) , and Tyson Fury exchange blows in 2015
He made a remarkable return in 2018 and controversially drew with Deontay Wilder that year. Fury then beat Wilder in the rematch to win the WBC title and triumphed again in a sensational 2021 trilogy fight.
Undefeated he has held the WBC belt ever since and last year Fury headlined two stadium fights in London, stopping both Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora to defend his title.
Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, has established himself as Fury’s closest rival at the top of the heavyweight division.
He stepped up to heavyweight and in 2021 dethroned Anthony Joshua to win the IBF, WBO and WBA titles.
The Ukrainian defended those belts with another emphatic win over Joshua last August.
Image: Britain’s Anthony Joshua (L) lands with a body shot against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk during their world heavyweight title fight in 2022
Read more on Sky News: Who is Oleksandr Usyk? Anthony Joshua: ‘I let myself down’ after Usyk defeat
Usyk has become a renowned global figure, returning to his Ukrainian homeland when Russia invaded in February of last year and continuing to represent his country on a global stage when he resumed his boxing career.
After Fury beat Chisora in his last fight, he faced off with Usyk in the ring and their teams conducted intensive negotiations for a protracted period.
Publicly Fury demanded Usyk agree to a 70/30 split, which the Ukrainian did accept as long as Fury consented to make a sizeable donation to the Ukrainian relief effort.
But the two parties were unable to conclude negotiations and Usyk’s promoter confirmed on Wednesday that talks had finally collapsed.
Dubois next for Uysk?
Britain’s Dubois is well-placed to challenge Usyk next, as long as he has recovered from the injury he sustained when he beat Kevin Lerena in his last fight.
Dubois is the mandatory challenger for the WBA title that Usyk holds and the WBA has already stated Usyk must begin negotiations for a defence against Dubois if he cannot show signed contracts for the Fury fight by 1 April.
Dubois is also represented by Warren, like Fury, so talks between the promoter and Usyk’s team will continue.
“We’re going to be having discussions anyway because if it comes to the mandatory Daniel Dubois, he’s with Frank as well,” Krassyuk said. “I treat Frank with big respect.
“We will have to comply with our obligations [for] the mandatories, probably. It’s very early to speak about that.”
No fighter has been considered the undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis 20 years ago. Fury v Usyk would have crowned one finally. But the wait, for the fight the boxing world was longing to see, is set to continue.
Tyson Fury is releasing a version of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline for a mental health charity.
His fans often belt out the song before his fights and the world heavyweight champion is well known for singing classics such as American Pie and Walking in Memphis in the ring.
The boxer has now been in the studio and the track will be released on 11 November, three weeks before his bout against fellow Briton Derek Chisora in London.
All proceeds will go to Talk Club, a men’s mental health charity that offers talking groups, sports groups and other therapy.
The 34-year-old has previously spoken frankly about his own struggles and suicidal thoughts.
“Boxing has been a massive platform for me to spread the word on mental health and I have done it to the best of my ability,” said Fury.
“I have been very vocal about my mental health struggle, especially since my comeback.
“It has been widely printed about my highs and lows, ups and downs, so I’ve tried my best to keep talking about it as much as I can and keep trying to smash the stigma.”
Image: Fury is well known for taking the mic in the ring. Pic: AP
Fury says he also hopes his version of Sweet Caroline will go down well with England fans heading to the World Cup in Qatar, with the tournament starting next month.
The song is also popular with football fans and was sung by supporters after the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 triumph.
There’s also a special dance remix being worked on, according to record label bosses.
It’s also not the first time Fury has been in the studio – he recorded a duet with Robbie Williams for the star’s 2019 Christmas album.
Fury’s next fight is at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 3 December when he takes on Chisora for a third time.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
A 21-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Rico Burton – a cousin of heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury – in Altrincham on Sunday.
Liam O’Prey, of no fixed abode, will appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, said police.
He’s also accused of assaulting a 17-year-old-boy who was critically injured and received life-saving treatment from members of the public.
Both suffered stab wounds.
Greater Manchester Police said a 20-year-old also arrested on suspicion of murder had been bailed pending ongoing enquiries.
Burton, 31, died in hospital after the incident, which happened outside a bar in the early hours of Sunday.
The 17-year-old victim remains stable in hospital with “significant life-changing injuries”, according to officers.
Fury called his cousin’s death “senseless” in an emotional appeal on social media.
“RIP Rico Burton – may the lord God grant you a good place in heaven, see you soon,” said the champion boxer.
“You don’t know how hard it is until it’s one of your own,” he added. “Life is very precious and it can be taken away very quick. Enjoy every moment.”
Anyone with information, CCTV, photos, or videos of the incident is asked to contact police on 0161 856 7386 or 101 quoting incident 475 of 21/08/2022.
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
