"Brings eyes from all over the planet" - Tyson Fury silences father John Fury's critics after viral headbutt incident, calls him "promoter's dream"
Tyson Fury is set to make his highly-anticipated return to the boxing ring this weekend when he faces Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed heavyweight title bout that has faced multiple delays. John Fury, who is the father of the WBC heavyweight champion, faced plenty of criticism in the lead-up to the fight as he headbutted Stanislav Stepchuk - a member of his opponent's team.
While his dad has faced plenty of backlash from the boxing community - with many claiming that he should have been sent home by his son - 'The Gypsy King' defended his actions. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Fury was asked if he ever tries to calm his father down. 'The Gypsy King' responded:
"No. My dad is my Angelo Dundee. He's my salesman. He just adds so much hype and so many views to anything we do so fantastic. That little ruckus he did probably added a half million pay-per-view buys. Crazy. The world was talking about it even more so than the actual event. [It] just brings eyes from all over the planet to this event and to Saudi Arabia so it was fantastic. He's the promoter's dream."
When asked if his father was okay or needed stitches, Fury responded:
"No, he's okay. A little pop's not going to stop my dad. That's for sure."
Check out Tyson Fury's comments on John Fury headbutting Stanislav Stepchuk below:
The elder Fury has often stolen the show when his sons compete. He has often been accused of attempting to live through the WBC heavyweight champion after retiring from professional boxing in 1995 with a record of just 8-4-1.
Tony Bellew blasts Tyson Fury's father John Fury for making threat
After headbutting Stanislav Stepchuk, John Fury aimed at Tony Bellew for his prediction that Oleksandr Usyk would defeat Tyson Fury this weekend. John stated:
"You see Tony Bellew? He will get a headbutt like [Stepchuk] just got if he comes around me" [h/t talkSPORT]
In an interview with talkSPORT, Bellew responded by blasting the elder Fury, saying:
"I don't know why my name's been mentioned. No-one can headbutt me… I achieved more in 60 seconds than John Fury's achieved in his life. I never big myself up, but just because something shot out of your nuts and became one of the greatest heavyweights in the world, that does not mean you can validate your opinion on every other fighter. You got your arse absolutely handed to you off Henry Akinwande, now get a grip of yourself."
Check out Tony Bellew's comments, courtesy of Michael Benson, below:
Bellew is a former WBC cruiserweight champion, who retired with a 30-3-1 record after losing to Usyk via eighth-round knockout in 2018. It remains to be seen if the two will cross paths at any point this week.