Don’t mess with Tyson. John Fury has been left bleeding after headbutting a member of Oleksandr Usyk’s team in a heated clash in Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Fight week for Tyson Fury’s undisputed battle against the Ukrainian has started with a dramatic incident as the two camps encountered one another in a hotel in Riyadh ahead of their respective media interviews.
It’s not clear what happened to provoke the clash, but Fury Sr was seen on camera headbutting one member of Usyk’s team.
He then went head-to-head with another in a heated exchange. In this mood: Don’t mess with Tyson.
Fury Sr emerged with a cut on his head and blood trickling down his face as a result.
He then angrily shouted and screamed as he attempted to continue the confrontation.
As the 59-year-old had to be restrained, Usyk’s camp chanted “Usyk, Usyk, Usyk”.
Tyson Fury was not involved in the incident, as he was giving an interview elsewhere at the time.
When he saw his dad for the first time following the fracas, the WBC heavyweight world champion said: “How did you cut yourself like that?”
“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.
“It doesn’t bother us, it’s what we live for, we’re fighting people. That’s a regular occurrence to me.”
This is the first fight in over a year in which John has been part of Tyson’s training set-up.
In recent times, he’s clashed with his son’s head coach SugarHill Steward in the media.
John was therefore not in the gym training Tyson before the Francis Ngannou fight.
Now though, this relationship appears to have been repaired with John playing a key role in various training clips that fans have seen prior to the undisputed showdown with Usyk.
“Yeah, I’m training hard obviously,” Fury said at a press conference last month.
“I’m in fantastic shape and I’ve got a massive fight coming up.
“There’s no room for error, there’s no room for not training right or any other problems so we’ve got to get through it.
“We’re 40 days out, I feel fantastic. I know all boxers say this same old s*** but I actually am having a fantastic training camp.
“I’ve got a good team around me and everything is going to plan. No complaints, I’m working hard.
“I’ve got my secret weapon, my dad in camp this time, so I’ve got my secret weapon over there as well.”
The incident will likely not go down well with Usyk’s mother, who has already been left unimpressed by Fury and his team’s behaviour.
At the end of their first press conference, the heavyweights faced off on stage and had to be pulled apart by security after Fury pushed Usyk.
Usyk revealed her furious reaction to the heated altercation: “My mum was angry, ‘Why did this man push you?’
“I said, ‘Mum, it’s just show, please relax.’ She said, ‘Listen, say if this man pushes you, I kill him.’”
Don’t mess with Tyson.
