Oleksandr Usyk’s trainer claimed Tyson Fury’s withdrawal from the pair’s undisputed title fight was “more than suspicious”.
Usyk and Fury were due to meet in Saudi Arabia this weekend in the first undisputed fight in the division since 1999, but Fury withdrew two weeks ago after suffering a bad cut in training.
The undefeated star received a severe cut above his right eye while training, which was labeled by his promotion team as a “strange cut.” The injury required stitches, leading to the postponement of the undisputed heavyweight contest.
The match has been rescheduled for May 18, and Fury needs 90 days to recover from the injury, according to the former Gypsy King cutman.
But one of his opponent’s coaches, Sergey Lapin, has doubted the legitimacy of the matter, suggesting Fury is “still running” from Usyk.
WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT
Tyson Fury’s showdown with Oleksandr Usyk has been postponed after he suffered a cut above his right eye during sparring.
Fury (left) will no longer fight Oleksandr Usyk on February 17 after being cut in sparring.
Sergey Lapin has suggested that Fury’s withdrawal from the fight was “suspicious” due to the nature of the injury. Source – Instagram (serge_lapin)
“There were rumors that Fury’s preparations were not going as planned and then promoter Alex Krassyuk called me to tell me about Fury’s cut,” he said. Fruity Slots. ‘The circumstances are more than suspicious.
‘In this modern era, with all the protective and advanced headgear available to high level fighters, as well as the large gloves used in sparring, it seems impossible to me that I would have suffered such an injury in sparring.
‘It’s my instinct that something suspicious happened, maybe because Fury wasn’t ready to fight. Maybe they lost a lot in sparring and needed to buy more time. But are we really surprised that Tyson Fury is still running away from Usyk? Are we really surprised that Fury found another way to avoid the fight? This is nothing new.’
Doubts were raised over Fury’s chances in the fight after he outpointed debutant Francis Ngannou in his last fight in October.
The world champion went down in the third round and many fans believed he lost the fight overall despite a split decision victory.
The nature of the injury, Lapin said, points to an outcome this spring.
Fury struggled in his last fight, winning a narrow split decision against Francis Ngannou.
‘Also, for a second let’s say he got cut, through a headgear and with big training gloves, can you imagine what will happen to his head when he takes a bomb from Usyk in a ten ounce glove?’ he said. ‘If Fury finally dares to step into the ring on May 18, then it will be a terrible dream for him, he has never boxed with a boxer of this level in his life.
“Ngannou exposed Fury for what he is, a fighter with too many miles on the clock, a fighter who has had too many wars and a fighter who is now in rapid decline to the point where he has been seriously picked on by his sparring partners.”