Tyson Fury left fans surprised when he postponed his much-anticipated fight with Oleksandr Usyk. Well, it was not without reason. Fury required 11 stitches due to an elbow injury sustained during a sparring session, leading to the postponement of his bout against Usyk. The fight, originally set for February 17th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was called off by Fury following the incident at his training camp. How did he get wounded?
The 35-year-old revealed that he was participating in a sparring session when he was accidentally struck in the eye with an elbow. The resulting cut necessitated a trip to the hospital, where he received the stitches. Fury acknowledged that such injuries are a part of sparring and are unavoidable at times. However, Argon Smakici, the sparring partner, has revealed his side of the story in an interview with iFL TV.
Did the sparring session happen without adequate protection?
According to Fury, the sparring rounds did not use head guards, which might have prevented such an accident. However, Makici has revealed that enough safety precautions were taken during it. He said, “All the time, the head guards protecting, the gloves, we have the big gloves, we have the same gloves. Everything was really really protected”. The Croatian heavyweight did apologize for the incident, though.
He has been the sparring partner for Anthony Joshua before and feels sorry for what happened with Fury. It was not on purpose that Makici ended up giving Fury a cut. According to him, the punch might have ended up becoming an elbow to the face during the session. Despite all the commotion, he believes the fight will happen. What do Usyk and HE Turki Alalshick think?
HE Turki Alalshikh decides on Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk bout
Fury’s insistence on his inability to fight due to the injury was met with amusement by Usyk, who simply smiled upon hearing the news and continued his training. This was indicative of him accusing Fury of ducking which the heavyweight champion did not take very kindly. “Why would I not want to fight if I’ve had, I’ve put 10 weeks into my last for the biggest training camp?” said Fury.
Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi state’s General Authority for Entertainment, announced that if either Fury or Usyk withdraws from the rescheduled May 18th date, they will call upon a replacement boxer. Alalshikh guaranteed both fighters $10 million and promised another significant fight on the same night if someone backed out. “We’ve delayed this fight until May 18, I’ve guaranteed both fighters 10 million if someone has escaped the fight. I also guarantee another big fight on the same night. I will make fans around the world know if someone is scared for this fight,” he added, giving fans a little consolation.
Fans have to now wait another few months for the fight, which has already been postponed once. While Makici might be confident about the fight happening, do you share a similar thought? We would love to hear your opinions in the comments below.
