"It's bad behavior" - Oleksandr Usyk reacts to John Fury's headbutting incident with teammate
Oleksandr Usyk recently expressed his thoughts on John Fury headbutting a member of his team. That resulted in the Englishman being bloodied.
The first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 is expected to be crowned in the Usyk vs. Tyson Fury bout. The May 18 event, dubbed the 'Ring of Fire', will take place in the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is anticipated to be one of the greatest boxing events in history.
Tensions between the Fury and Usyk camps appeared to reach yet another peak when the boxers' teams came face to face in Riyadh. 'Usyk' and 'Fury' chants were started by both camps. The 'Fury' chants were fiercely led by elder Fury. After some time, he approached Stanislav Stepchuk from Usyk's camp, who was yelling 'Usyk'.
The veteran boxing coach gave Stepchuk a hard headbutt. The two teams were quickly divided by security personnel who stepped in. Stepchuk sustained a cut above his left eye from the headbutt, while Fury Sr. sustained a cut across his forehead.
Watch the incident below:
Usyk discussed the above incident with Sky Sports Boxing, saying:
''My team is great team. I say, please not fight, step back. The problem is John Fury, it's bad behaviour, is my opinion.''
When asked if Fury's father had apologized to his team for his actions, Usyk responded:
''I don't know. Listen, doesn't matter for me and my team it's doesn't matter.''
Check out Oleksandr Usyk's comments below:
In an interview with Seconds Out, Fury Sr. apologized for his behavior, citing pro-Usyk shouts as the cause of his aggravation. He defended his kid, claiming 'The Gypsy King' is the best in the world and deserves more respect.
Fury enters the bout with a split-decision victory over Ngannou. Meanwhile, in his last boxing appearance, Usyk is coming off a ninth-round TKO win against Daniel Dubois.
Oleksandr Usyk's teammate opens up about the headbutting incident
A teammate of Oleksandr Usyk recently discussed the aforementioned headbutting incident with Tyson Fury's father. It seemed as though Fury Sr. struck him with such power that blood spurted down his face.
In a recent interview with Seconds Out, Usyk's teammate Stanislav Stepchuk shared his perspective on the altercation through a translator:
"I was just supporting my team and shouting Usyk. I didn’t touch him [John]. He just exposed his mind and went crazy. If he gets mad only from shouting Usyk’s name, what will happen in five days? He thinks there isn’t respect because of shouting Usyk’s name, so maybe he is a little bit crazy."
Check out Stanislav Stepchuk's comments below (0:35):