06 February 2024 , 12:16
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Oleksandr Usyk has warned Tyson Fury he will have to play by his rules from now on.
Usyk and Fury were due to clash for the undisputed heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia next weekend. But Fury pulled out two weeks before the first bell after suffering a gash above his right eye, forcing the bout to be moved to May 18. Usyk had adopted a no-nonsense approach to the rescheduling after missing the birth of his fourth child during his training camp.
"I'm not judging anyone," he said. "But the thing is we have to treat this more seriously, this is very important and we have to be cautious. We have to treat this professionally. We have to spend every minute in the ring with the intention of having respect for our opponent.
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"To judge someone for his mistakes is a weakness. I feel very well and even if someone is trying to play me they are playing by my rules. I sacrificed all the dates I wanted to spend with my family, Christmas, New Year, the birthday of my second son and the birth of my daughter. I should have been around my wife."
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Usyk has based himself near Valencia in Spain for his training camp and was in the ring when he Fury pulled out of their fight last Friday. "We had the last 12-round sparring, I was already in the ring when this news occurred, when I finished the last round. Sergey [Lapin, camp manager] came up to me, smiling and feeling uncomfortable," he added.
"He said we had news; I smiled and went back to the training, working with the boxing bag. This smile is not devoted to Tyson Fury or anyone else; it comes from the bottom of the heart. When I smile I feel freedom, I feel better when I smile. If you try to smile for no reason, you understand how beautiful life is."
Usyk also hinted that Fury hadn't taken the necessary precautions before sparring in Saudi Arabia. "There are some measures taken by highly professional fighters. Normally you use the headgear and big gloves, maybe 20oz. You apply Vaseline on the gloves, on your mask and your eyebrows to avoid cuts and injuries. You are treating this in a different manner to a professional, you are jeopardising the event and behaving disrespectfully to the people involved," he said.