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It’s not rare for boxers and MMA fighters to get physical with each other at promotional events leading up to a fight, but Tyson Fury’s dad decided to get in on the action and was left with a bloody injury after headbutting a member of Oleksandr Usyk’s prior to a tilt this weekend.
Tyson Fury comes from a family of boxers, and while he is easily the most accomplished member of his clan, he can credit his father John (who got his start as an underground bare-knuckle fighter in the 1980s before turning pro) for introducing him to the sport that made him famous.
The man known as The Gypsy King has posted a 34-0-1 record as a pro, and on May 18th, Oleksandr Usyk will attempt to hand him the first loss of his career when they face off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with the undisputed heavyweight title on the line (Fury heads into the bout as a slight favorite at-110, but its essentially a coin flip based on the odds as of this writing).
On Monday, members of both boxer’s camps were present for a media session that was organized ahead of their showdown on Saturday. That included John Fury, who was serving as a hype man for his son when he got into it with someone in the entourage of his Ukrainian foe before delivering a headbutt that led to blood pouring down his face.
BAH GAWD JOHN FURY JUST BUSTED HIMSELF OPEN HEADBUTTING A MEMBER OF USYK’S TEAM pic.twitter.com/ob4os1v2Fj
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) May 13, 2024
Tyson wasn’t in the room at the time, but he seemed to appreciate the gesture based on how he reacted while greeting his dad after hearing the news.
John spoke with Seconds Out Boxing in the wake of the incident and issued a mea culpa for crossing the line in the heat of the moment, saying:
“Sincere apologies to everybody involved. It’s just the way we are. Emotions and tensions are running high. He was a very disrespectful fella. 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. [Bleeding] doesn’t bother me, it’s what we live for. We’re fighting people. That’s a regular occurrence to me.”
Spoken like a true boxer.