Ukrainian promoter Alex Krassyuk clears air on Oleksandr Usyk's jaw injury sustained against Tyson Fury
The boxing world was led to believe that Oleksandr Usyk sustained a jaw injury in his win over Tyson Fury last weekend. However, his promoter Alex Krassyuk recently clarified how the rumor was spread and shared his account of the story.
Usyk defeated Fury by split decision and also came close to getting a finish in Round 9 of the fight. But Krassyuk's statement about Usyk's absence from the post-fight press conference suggested that he might have broken his jaw during the fight and needed immediate medical attention.
In a recent interview with Boxing King Media, Krassyuk clarified that Usyk did not suffer any major injury and explained the entire incident:
"When we went to the locker room [after the fight], the local doctor came to inspect. Usyk felt some discomfort in his upper jaw. The doctor said that anything could happen and this is a very sensitive area so you need to be inspected as fast as possible."
According to Krassyuk, Usyk did the post-fight doping test and other formalities first. As the doctor was insistent on getting the check-up on priority, Krassyuk attended the press conference on Usyk's behalf and informed the media that the heavyweight champion was taken to the hospital.
However, Usyk, who was desperate to fulfill his commitments, attended the press conference before heading to the hospital. According to Krassyuk, Fury's comments led the boxing world to believe that Usyk's injury was serious.
Upon being asked if Oleksandr Usyk's jaw was broken in the fight, Krassyuk replied:
"Nothing major. He went to the hospital after the press conference, they made the exams and it's something like one week recovery. Thank god. He's safe and sound."
Catch Alex Krassyuk's comments below (17:28):
Alex Krassyuk believes Tyson Fury was a tougher opponent for Oleksandr Usyk than Anthony Joshua
Oleksandr Usyk has now defeated some of the best heavyweight boxers of the current era. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, the boxers whom he beat to win the heavyweight world titles, stand out as two of the most significant opponents of his professional boxing career.
Continuing further in the aforementioned interview, Krassyuk said:
"With Fury, he has these long arms and he keeps his chin tucked in all the time. It's hard. So before you land a punch, you need to do a huge volume of work to land it. This is the science of boxing. You have to find the keys. You need to use all the levels moving from side-to-side and only then, you can place one! So you have to spend more energy, way more energy to land just one punch than in a classic fight." [13:56]
With the win over Fury, Oleksandr Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion in nearly 25 years. However, he will vacate the IBF heavyweight title as per a contractual agreement. His win marked a significant moment for Ukrainian boxing, which saw the crowning of two more champions in recent weeks.