Tyson Fury will not pull out of his fight with Oleksandr Usyk again. 

That is according to the boxer’s father, John Fury. Fury withdrew from the fight for the second time after he sustained a big cut in sparring over his right eye. That meant the WBC Heavyweight Champion missed the scheduled bout for February 17. This was the second time Fury missed the fight date. He was on course to face Usyk on December 23 last year. But the heavyweight withdrew after having faced Francis Ngannou in a hard-fought win. 

Fury was sent to the canvas in the third round with a speedy left hook as Ngannou continued to pepper the heavyweight until the final bell. But now Turki AlalShikh has announced a $10 million fine on either fighter if they don’t make the date. John Fury has shut down any worries of Fury pulling out as talks over a Fury vs Anthony Joshua bout also build up. 

John Fury Reacts

“He’s got to get past Ngannou first which is a tall order. He’s a danger man Ngannou, a big dude, fit, strong, and believes in himself. He is able, he’s in your face, doesn’t mind a tear up. Joshua has to get past him before he even thinks about stepping in for anybody else.

“And he’s lost to Usyk twice already and if you’ve lost twice, is there going to be that much interest in a third fight? It’s only going to be the same thing: Usyk outpointing him. People want to see Tyson vs Usyk and Tyson will not be pulling out. I’ll tell you that now,” Fury stated 

Despite this, Usyk’s camp feels different. The Ukrainian has a clause in his contract allowing him to face Filip Hrgovic in case Fury pulls out. Usyk’s former coach, James Ali Bashir, doubts Fury is turning up. The Gypsy King has a history of withdrawing after he failed to give Wladimir Klitschko a rematch.

The boxer retired and was absent from the sport with mental health issues. The severity of Fury’s cut has also created a race against time for it to heal. It is Fury’s second significant cut after he was cut in his fight against Otto Wallin. That shows Fury is susceptible to getting cut, as the injury could open up in sparring or when he fights Usyk. That is why Bashir was still cautious over the fight date. 

Usyk’s Former Coach

“Tyson has a reputation for being a rowdy guy. He spars oft times without any head gear on and a fight of that magnitude you can’t take those kinds of chances. I don’t know whether he had head gear off or not but the place where the cut is it seems so unlikely. Disregard for his profession, disregard for the fans… more than likely it came from him being reckless.

“May, that’s cutting it short, that is hurrying it up. I can see that cut re-opening if they go in May. I would push the fight back to June or July to be sure. [And] I personally as a boxing trainer would push it back. The longer that he takes time for it to heal, the better the cut is going to be but I don’t know about May,” Bashir said