John Fury, the father of world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, has issued an apology after a confrontation with a member of Oleksandr Usyk’s team turned physical.
The incident occurred during a media event in Riyadh ahead of Saturday’s highly anticipated fight.
Security intervened to separate the two camps at the hotel where the media activities were taking place.
Video footage shared on social media captured the moment when John Fury engaged with Usyk’s team members, culminating in what appeared to be a headbutt directed at one of them.
Despite efforts to contain the situation, John Fury ended up with a cut on his head, with blood visibly flowing down his face.
He had to be restrained multiple times as tensions ran high between the rival groups, both of whom were passionately supporting their fighters.
“Sincere apologies to everybody involved. It’s just the way we are,” he told Seconds Out. “Emotions and tensions are running high. He was a very disrespectful fella,” said John.
“If you come close in a fighting man’s space, you’re gonna cop for something.
“What matters to me is respect for my son and he wasn’t showing any of it. He mentioned my son and that was it, so he had to have it. It doesn’t bother me [bleeding], it’s what we live for, we’re fighting people. That’s a regular occurrence to me.”
Tyson Fury, unaware of the altercation as he was engaged in separate media interviews elsewhere in the hotel, later questioned his father about the injury.
John Fury attributed his actions to Usyk’s team allegedly disrespecting his son, whom he hailed as the greatest heavyweight boxer in history, in an interview with Sky Sports.
John Fury’s actions have drawn criticism for their embarrassing and erratic nature, with this incident highlighting a pattern of behavior that has escalated at public events.
“Coming out with all that rubbish. He’s in my face, trying to be clever. Coming into my space, ‘Usyk, Usyk’, nobody’s bothering with them. I was only chanting my own son’s name.
“At the end of the day, I’m a warrior, that’s what we do. We’re fighting people. You come in the space, you’re going to get what’s coming.”
🗣️ ‘They came into my space!’
In a recent interview, John Fury, father of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, shared his perspective on the altercation with Oleksandr Usyk’s camp in Riyadh.
In the interview, John Fury explained his actions, stating that he felt compelled to defend his son’s honor after allegedly hearing disrespectful comments from Usyk’s team.
The member of Usyk’s team involved in the altercation has been identified as Stanislav Stepchuk. Stepchuk clarified that he had not made any derogatory remarks about Tyson Fury and was simply chanting “Usyk, Usyk” to support his team. He emphasized that he had not physically engaged with John Fury due to their age difference and out of respect.
“I didn’t touch him. He went crazy,” said Stepchuk. “Yeah [I wanted to punch him], but because of the age difference it would not be very fair. He should not look for an actual fight because he could have a heart attack and finish in the ambulance.”
Alex Krassyuk, Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter, has acknowledged that the altercation involving John Fury was not a positive reflection on the sport. Krassyuk expressed a desire for an apology from John Fury following the incident.
“I apologised because I thought initially that one of our guys hit John, but then I saw the video and saw it was vice versa,” Krassyuk said.
“So do I take my apology back because it was his misbehaviour? He has to apologise because this does not give a good impression about us to the rest of the world. It’s up to him.
“Usyk’s team and Fury’s team are fighters. It wouldn’t be good if it got out of control. Usyk would say, ‘Don’t touch my guys, they are dangerous’.”
The unbeaten rivals meet for the first time at the Kingdom Arena, with Saturday’s clash crowning the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000 and the first of the four-belt era.
“I can’t wait,” declared Tyson Fury.
“It’s unbelievable to be out here. Everyone is on a high. Big-time boxing in Saudi Arabia is fantastic.
“I’m going to enjoy this week because it’s been many years coming. So we’ll enjoy it. I feel on top of the world and I can’t wait.”
Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, claimed the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles by defeating Anthony Joshua at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2021. He then successfully defended these titles against Joshua in a rematch held in Jeddah a year later.
“I’m doing good, I’m happy and I’m hungry. I don’t care how Tyson will be this week. I’m ready,” Usyk said.
“For me May 18 is important, what Tyson does in the press conferences doesn’t matter.
“I don’t think about Tyson Fury now. I’ve seen him in a lot of fights. I don’t know how he will box against me, we will see when we get into the ring.”
