Oleksandr Usyk revealed he defused what could have been an ugly brawl ahead of Saturday’s undisputed title fight with Tyson Fury.
On Monday, John Fury, the father of the WBC heavyweight champion, was at the centre of a fracas with members of Usyk’s team.
Footage appeared to show John Fury lashing out with his head towards Stanislav Stepchuk. John Fury was later pictured with blood coming from a head wound.
Usyk described how he prevented his team from escalating the confrontation further.
“I said, ‘Hey, Team Usyk back. Step back, please.’ Listen my team is very good if you want to fight, not boxing, street, shooting, knives, wrestling. But I said: ‘Hey, hey guys, please back.’ We must do good behaviour,” Usyk said.
“My friend [Stepchuk], is a powerful guy. A street guy. Did you see the video, he was like a pit bull. I said ‘Stop!’ Okay, [they did].”
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Fury and Usyk look ahead to their heavyweight champion clash on Saturday night and share what a victory will mean to both of them
The Ukrainian considers the incident disappointing. “Of course it’s discipline,” he said. “It’s bad, it’s just bad.
“A stupid situation. I don’t want to call John bad because I don’t know, because it’s not my life.”
But Usyk insisted it will be no distraction ahead of Saturday’s heavyweight championship clash.
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Warning: video includes graphic image. Tyson Fury’s father John gives his perspective of the clash between himself and Oleksandr Usyk’s camp in Riyadh
“For me it doesn’t matter, I think it’s bad behaviour from Tyson’s team. Listen, we are professional athletes, we’re not street fighters. It’s a big event for our people, for the UK and Ukraine,” he said.
“If you want a situation like to destabilise my team, it’s not possible. Because it’s not only professional sportsmen. It’s professional soldiers, it’s professional sportsmen, it’s professional people.
“This situation for me doesn’t matter, it’s only motivation for my team.”
