Tyson Fury‘s promoter, Frank Warren, has called Oleksandr Usyk a “crybaby” ahead of their rescheduled fight – and hopes the referee will remain strong and refuse to pander to his antics.
The bout was meant to happen on Saturday in Saudi Arabia but has been postponed until May 18 due to an injury Fury sustained during training. If the fight is delayed again, either Fury or Usyk will be fined £10million by Saudi Royal advisor Turki AlAlshikh.
Warren believes that Usyk often complains about body shots during his fights, which he thinks is a weakness. He expressed these views on the Toe2Toe podcast, saying: “He’s previously complained and moaned when he gets caught to the body. Now he’s in there with a guy who is the master of taking advantage of any weakness. He does it a lot Usyk, he ‘crybabies’ to the ref.
“He’s had previous for it about body shots. As long as the referee’s strong in that I’m really happy and I’m even more confident in Tyson in this fight than I was prior to Usyk fighting Dubois.”
Fury said Usyk was ‘knocked out’ by Dubois and that the low blow was actually okay. Warren, meanwhile, believes Fury can heal from his eye cut in three months, but they must fight by May 18.
“Cuts and blood always look bad wherein a couple of weeks they can look much different,” Warren said. “If he’s confident, I’m confident. He’s not going to set himself a date that’s going to fall apart. We’ve got governing bodies pressurising because they want to see the belts being fought for so it’s a matter of it has to happen on that date. I’m quite confident it will do.
“He’s had bad cuts before. He feels that it will be healed up in the next couple of months and that will give him six weeks preparation. Contrary again to all the ridiculous rumours he was in magnificent shape.
“You’ve only got to look at some of the photos of him to see. He’s now got another date to aim for and that’s where he’s at. I think the general mood of the camp is they can build on all the good work they’ve done.”