Watch it: Tyson Fury’s father headbutted member of Oleksandr Usyk’s team when he two sides came together on Monday.
The blood has already started flowing.
John Fury, the father of Tyson Fury, headbutted a member of Oleksandr Usyk’s team after an exchange of words five days before the heavyweights are set to meet for the undisputed championship Saturday in Saudi Arabia on DAZN Pay-Per-View.
The clash of heads, with Stanislav Stepchuk, caused on a cut on the elder Fury’s forehead.
He apologized afterward in an interview with Seconds Out.
“Sincere apologies to everybody involved to be honest with you,” Fury said on video. “It’s just the way we are. Emotions and tensions are running high. He was a very disrespectful fella, wasn’t he?
“If you come close in a fighting man’s space, you’re gonna cop for something, aren’t you? People don’t understand we are the real deal as fighters.
“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.”
Stepchuk told Seconds Out that he did nothing to deserve being butted.
Fury and Usyk will fight for all four major titles Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
It wouldn’t be a true Tyson Fury fight week without some drama involving his father John Fury.
It wouldn’t be a true [autotag]Tyson Fury[/autotag] fight week without some drama involving his father [autotag]John Fury[/autotag].
As fight week activities begin ahead of Saturday’s highly anticipated heavyweight title unification bout between Fury and [autotag]Oleksandr Usyk[/autotag] in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the tension between teams is gearing up, as well.
John Fury has no problem leading that charge, it seems. During an encounter with the opposing team, the 59-year-old uncorked a headbutt to the face of someone in Usyk’s camp.
Security and event staff already were in process of separating the two sides, but Fury’s attack caused more frantic movement. John Fury split his forehead open with the headbutt, then was pulled away from everyone else.
Multiple angles of the incident have surfaced on social media, and you can check them out below (via X):
‼️ Full, close-up video of John Fury's headbutt clash with Oleksandr Usyk's team which left him bleeding today…
It’s unknown if the attack from Fury will come with any repercussions as far as his continued involvement through the remainder of fight week. His son Tyson takes on Usyk at Kingdom Arena. The event airs on pay-per-view.
Watch John and Tommy Fury react to Tyson’s split decision win over Francis Ngannou.
Two key [autotag]Tyson Fury[/autotag] family members were proud with what they saw from him Saturday.
The WBC heavyweight champion came back from adversity to defeat Francis Ngannou by split decision in a non-title bout in Saudi Arabia. Tyson was knocked down in the third round of their fight, which was ex-UFC champ Ngannou’s boxing debut, but came back to win a decision over the remaining seven rounds of the fight.
Tyson’s father John and his boxer brother think Tyson displayed the “heart of a champion” and why he’s considered by many to be the best boxer in the heavyweight division.
Check out the video from Seconds Out of their reaction above.
[lawrence-related id=2691790,2691726,2691710]
For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Fury vs. Ngannou.
Jake Paul made an all-or-nothing proposition to Tommy Fury at the final news conference before their fight Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
Is it all or nothing for Tommy Fury?
Fury on Thursday had declared what he intended to do to opponent Jake Paul on Saturday in Saudi Arabia when Paul asked him whether he would be willing to put his money where his mouth is.
Paul said that he would double Fury’s payday if he the British reality TV wins in Diriyah but pay him nothing if he loses, which injected unexpected drama into the final news conference before the fight.
Fury seemed to hesitate as he processed the offer but his father-trainer, John Fury, accepted the unusual proposition
“You’ve got a deal! All or nothing!” the elder Fury yelled. The fighters then shook hands in a violent manner to seal the deal.
So is Fury, the half-brother of Tyson Fury, really going to risk fighting for nothing?
Paul seemed to be serious. He said that his lawyers had already drawn up the all-or-nothing contract. Whether Fury has or will sign it was uncertain as the news conference came to an end.
One thing is certain: The fighters’ back-and-forth trash talk and novel proposition did exactly what promoters had hoped it would, which was to conclude the pre-fight hype in memorable fashion.
What did Fury (8-0, 4 KOs) say he will do to Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) in their scheduled eight-round, 185-pound showdown?
Paul, sitting on the oppositive side of a long dais to Fury, asked his rival a simple question: “Tommy, do you think this is going to be an easy fight?”
This is how Fury responded: “I can’t see you. Look me in the eyes. You’re getting put to sleep inside four rounds. Let me tell you, I’m not an old man here. I’m a fresh, young fighter. I’m going to put you away. … This is bad for you. You shouldn’t have stopped making easy money fighting celebrities, old men. I’m coming to take your head off.”
That’s when Paul put Fury on the spot by making his unusual proposition, raising the hype to a new level.
Of course, Paul’s bold move was evidence of his own confidence even though Fury is the first genuine boxer he will have faced in the ring.
Paul has fought a retired NBA player (Nate Robinson) and former mixed martial artists, never anyone with a background in the sweet science. And his two most recent victims, Tyrone Woodley and Anderson Silva, were 39 and 47, respectively, when they fought Paul. Hence Fury’s reference to “old men.”
“He keeps going on and on and on about Anderson Silva and Tyrone Woodley,” Fury said. “Tyrone Woodley was 40 years old and Anderson Silva was nearly 50, not too far from my dad’s age. And he got took the full distance. Everybody in the building who knows about boxing knows MMA fighters are not boxers. We all know that.
“I’ve absolutely took apart every single MMA fighter I’ve ever sparred with my entire life. They’re not boxers. And this guy couldn’t even deal with them. … This guy (Silva) is a great striker. Yeah, in MMA, not boxing. And he still went eight rounds with him and looked like he’d been through the trenches.
“On Sunday night you have a fresh, young 23-year-old proper, legitimate fighter. … When you’re in the opposite corner and you’re getting hit all about the head and getting blue flashes, you’re going to wake up and realize what boxing is.”
Paul’s response?
“People are going to see,” he said. “They can talk about all these things, MMA fighters, but you put Anderson Silva in with Tommy Fury and Anderson Silva knocks him out. You think that Mike Tyson … how old is he? 58? … you think Mike Tyson couldn’t beat Tommy Fury right now? The age, that’s what people are hung up on.
“That’s why I’m so excited about this fight. I can finally silence critics who have said I should fight a professional boxer, fight someone your age. I agree. I haven’t proven that. This is why it’s so big, it’s why I’m so excited.”
Fury and his team aren’t buying that. They see their man as a veritable boxer, someone who has been around the sport his entire life. They see Paul as a fraud.
John Fury captured that sentiment moments after he accepted Paul’s all-or-nothing offer.
“Let me say one thing that will wrap this all up,” he said. “If Tommy can’t beat Jake Paul, he doesn’t deserve paying.”
Jake Paul made an all-or-nothing proposition to Tommy Fury at the final news conference before their fight Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
Is it all or nothing for Tommy Fury?
Fury on Thursday had declared what he intended to do to opponent Jake Paul on Saturday in Saudi Arabia when Paul asked him whether he would be willing to put his money where his mouth is.
Paul said that he would double Fury’s payday if he the British reality TV wins in Diriyah but pay him nothing if he loses, which injected unexpected drama into the final news conference before the fight.
Fury seemed to hesitate as he processed the offer but his father-trainer, John Fury, accepted the unusual proposition
“You’ve got a deal! All or nothing!” the elder Fury yelled. The fighters then shook hands in a violent manner to seal the deal.
So is Fury, the half-brother of Tyson Fury, really going to risk fighting for nothing?
Paul seemed to be serious. He said that his lawyers had already drawn up the all-or-nothing contract. Whether Fury has or will sign it was uncertain as the news conference came to an end.
One thing is certain: The fighters’ back-and-forth trash talk and novel proposition did exactly what promoters had hoped it would, which was to conclude the pre-fight hype in memorable fashion.
What did Fury (8-0, 4 KOs) say he will do to Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) in their scheduled eight-round, 185-pound showdown?
Paul, sitting on the oppositive side of a long dais to Fury, asked his rival a simple question: “Tommy, do you think this is going to be an easy fight?”
This is how Fury responded: “I can’t see you. Look me in the eyes. You’re getting put to sleep inside four rounds. Let me tell you, I’m not an old man here. I’m a fresh, young fighter. I’m going to put you away. … This is bad for you. You shouldn’t have stopped making easy money fighting celebrities, old men. I’m coming to take your head off.”
That’s when Paul put Fury on the spot by making his unusual proposition, raising the hype to a new level.
Of course, Paul’s bold move was evidence of his own confidence even though Fury is the first genuine boxer he will have faced in the ring.
Paul has fought a retired NBA player (Nate Robinson) and former mixed martial artists, never anyone with a background in the sweet science. And his two most recent victims, Tyrone Woodley and Anderson Silva, were 39 and 47, respectively, when they fought Paul. Hence Fury’s reference to “old men.”
“He keeps going on and on and on about Anderson Silva and Tyrone Woodley,” Fury said. “Tyrone Woodley was 40 years old and Anderson Silva was nearly 50, not too far from my dad’s age. And he got took the full distance. Everybody in the building who knows about boxing knows MMA fighters are not boxers. We all know that.
“I’ve absolutely took apart every single MMA fighter I’ve ever sparred with my entire life. They’re not boxers. And this guy couldn’t even deal with them. … This guy (Silva) is a great striker. Yeah, in MMA, not boxing. And he still went eight rounds with him and looked like he’d been through the trenches.
“On Sunday night you have a fresh, young 23-year-old proper, legitimate fighter. … When you’re in the opposite corner and you’re getting hit all about the head and getting blue flashes, you’re going to wake up and realize what boxing is.”
Paul’s response?
“People are going to see,” he said. “They can talk about all these things, MMA fighters, but you put Anderson Silva in with Tommy Fury and Anderson Silva knocks him out. You think that Mike Tyson … how old is he? 58? … you think Mike Tyson couldn’t beat Tommy Fury right now? The age, that’s what people are hung up on.
“That’s why I’m so excited about this fight. I can finally silence critics who have said I should fight a professional boxer, fight someone your age. I agree. I haven’t proven that. This is why it’s so big, it’s why I’m so excited.”
Fury and his team aren’t buying that. They see their man as a veritable boxer, someone who has been around the sport his entire life. They see Paul as a fraud.
John Fury captured that sentiment moments after he accepted Paul’s all-or-nothing offer.
“Let me say one thing that will wrap this all up,” he said. “If Tommy can’t beat Jake Paul, he doesn’t deserve paying.”
Tyson Fury fought Deontay Wilder with injured elbows, according to his father, John Fury.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder produced a trilogy fight for the ages when they met last month in Las Vegas.
Fury was knocked down twice before sending Wilder crashing to the canvas in the 11th round in a successful defense of his WBC heavyweight title.
However, it turns out Tyson wasn’t fully fit for the fight, according to his father, John Fury.
In an interview with BT Sport, John Fury said: “It wasn’t a boxing match was it? Because Tyson was very badly injured going into that fight. He had to have chromosome injections into both elbows, both elbows were numb.
“He’s since had an operation, six hours, all day in hospital having to sort out his elbows.”
This, in John Fury’s eyes, affected his son’s performance.
“I think he had some bone spurs that he had to get removed, common thing in boxers,” the elder Fury said. “He was handicapped from the beginning. But the boxing side of it went out the window because I knew he was going to be like that from [early] on.
“When I seen the look in his eyes, he just wanted to seek and destroy. And that’s what he did.”
Tyson Fury fought Deontay Wilder with injured elbows, according to his father, John Fury.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder produced a trilogy fight for the ages when they met last month in Las Vegas.
Fury was knocked down twice before sending Wilder crashing to the canvas in the 11th round in a successful defense of his WBC heavyweight title.
However, it turns out Tyson wasn’t fully fit for the fight, according to his father, John Fury.
In an interview with BT Sport, John Fury said: “It wasn’t a boxing match was it? Because Tyson was very badly injured going into that fight. He had to have chromosome injections into both elbows, both elbows were numb.
“He’s since had an operation, six hours, all day in hospital having to sort out his elbows.”
This, in John Fury’s eyes, affected his son’s performance.
“I think he had some bone spurs that he had to get removed, common thing in boxers,” the elder Fury said. “He was handicapped from the beginning. But the boxing side of it went out the window because I knew he was going to be like that from [early] on.
“When I seen the look in his eyes, he just wanted to seek and destroy. And that’s what he did.”
Tyson Fury’s father, John Fury, has cast fresh doubt on a pending showdown with Anthony Joshua.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.
***
The long period of uncertainty surrounding the exact date and venue of the agreed-upon heavyweight title-unification fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury continues to show no signs of letting up, as Fury’s father, John Fury, has claimed the bout is still not close to being sealed.
Joshua and Fury agreed to the showdown in principle last year, then had to wait out much of the COVID-19 pandemic and some mandatory challenger issues before eventually signing a two-fight agreement, according to their promoters, including Joshua’s backer Eddie Hearn.
However, as forecast by Hearn at the start of the year, the announcement seems to be coming in two parts. And after news of the terms being formally agreed upon, we now need a confirmed date and venue that will satisfy the financial requirements of all involved.
The senior Fury did not seem at all impressed by the elongated process in an interview with BT Sport (transcribed by Boxing Scene) over the weekend, however.
Referring to the fact his son hasn’t fought in 14 months, he said: “We need to get him out whether these cowboys get the job sorted, which I don’t think they’re going to do.
“What have they signed? They’ve signed nothing in my eyes. They’ve got no date, no venue, no nothing. What does it mean if you can’t get a date and a venue? What does it mean if no one is willing to put the money up?
“It’s all about someone coming forward and saying, ‘Right, I’ll pay for the fight, I’ll stage the fight.’ Where are these people? That’s the position it’s in and I don’t think they can get it together.
“It’s too big for what’s happening and the climate the world is in at the moment. I just don’t think the timing is right for a fight of that magnitude with the state of the world.
“Tyson needs to fight twice this year, with or without A.J. Tyson is not bothered by any heavyweight on the planet, he’s passed being bothered by this man or that man.
“It’s a business for Tyson and we need to move on, get a living properly, sharpen his tools and keep him sharp in case that big night comes knocking. But I think they’re dragging their heels a bit because they don’t want to, and I don’t blame them.”
Fury last fought in February of last year, when he stopped Deontay Wilder to win the WBC heavyweight title. Joshua, who holds three belts, is coming off a ninth-round stoppage of Kubrat Pulev in December.
Tyson Fury’s father, John Fury, has cast fresh doubt on a pending showdown with Anthony Joshua.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.
***
The long period of uncertainty surrounding the exact date and venue of the agreed-upon heavyweight title-unification fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury continues to show no signs of letting up, as Fury’s father, John Fury, has claimed the bout is still not close to being sealed.
Joshua and Fury agreed to the showdown in principle last year, then had to wait out much of the COVID-19 pandemic and some mandatory challenger issues before eventually signing a two-fight agreement, according to their promoters, including Joshua’s backer Eddie Hearn.
However, as forecast by Hearn at the start of the year, the announcement seems to be coming in two parts. And after news of the terms being formally agreed upon, we now need a confirmed date and venue that will satisfy the financial requirements of all involved.
The senior Fury did not seem at all impressed by the elongated process in an interview with BT Sport (transcribed by Boxing Scene) over the weekend, however.
Referring to the fact his son hasn’t fought in 14 months, he said: “We need to get him out whether these cowboys get the job sorted, which I don’t think they’re going to do.
“What have they signed? They’ve signed nothing in my eyes. They’ve got no date, no venue, no nothing. What does it mean if you can’t get a date and a venue? What does it mean if no one is willing to put the money up?
“It’s all about someone coming forward and saying, ‘Right, I’ll pay for the fight, I’ll stage the fight.’ Where are these people? That’s the position it’s in and I don’t think they can get it together.
“It’s too big for what’s happening and the climate the world is in at the moment. I just don’t think the timing is right for a fight of that magnitude with the state of the world.
“Tyson needs to fight twice this year, with or without A.J. Tyson is not bothered by any heavyweight on the planet, he’s passed being bothered by this man or that man.
“It’s a business for Tyson and we need to move on, get a living properly, sharpen his tools and keep him sharp in case that big night comes knocking. But I think they’re dragging their heels a bit because they don’t want to, and I don’t blame them.”
Fury last fought in February of last year, when he stopped Deontay Wilder to win the WBC heavyweight title. Joshua, who holds three belts, is coming off a ninth-round stoppage of Kubrat Pulev in December.
Boxing Junkie was able to link heavyweight champ Tyson Fury with his father, John Fury, who fought in the 1980s and ’90s.
Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections.
In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. Or so the concept goes.
We’re borrowing the six degrees concept – well, sort of loosely – to connect fighters from the past to their more contemporary counterparts in our new occasional feature, “Degrees of Separation.”
Example: Let’s connect Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Super easy; we did it in two steps. Senior fought Grover Wiley, who fought Junior.
In this installment of the Boxing Junkie feature, we wanted to link another father and son set: heavyweight champ Tyson Fury and his dad, John Fury, who suddenly has an itch to fight a comebacking Mike Tyson.
The elder Fury, who at 6-foot-3 is six inches shorter than his son, had a pro career. He was 8-4-1 (1 KO) between 1987 and 1995. And he faced one big-name opponent, one-time titleholder Henry Akinwande, who stopped him in three rounds.
Akinwande was the fighter who allowed us to link father and son in seven steps. Check it out:
John Fury fought …
Henry Akinwande, who fought …
Oliver McCall, who fought …
Lennox Lewis, who fought …
Vitali Klitschko, who fought …
Chris Arreola, who fought …
Deontay Wilder, who fought …
Tyson Fury
Could you do it in fewer steps? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook. Or you can contact me on Twitter. And please follow us!
