Fury's withdrawal from unification bout suspicious — Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk's trainer has claimed Tyson Fury's withdrawal from the pair's undisputed title fight was 'more than suspicious'.

Usyk and Fury were due to go head-to-head in Saudi Arabia this weekend in the first undisputed fight in the division since 1999, but Fury pulled out two weeks ago after suffering a heavy cut in training.

The undefeated star was dealt a severe cut above his right eye while sparring, which was labelled by his promotion team as a 'freak cut'. The wound required stitches, leading to the postponement of the undisputed heavyweight contest.

The match has been re-scheduled for May 18, with Fury needing 90 days to recover from the injury, according to the Gypsy King's former cutman.

But one of his opponent's trainers, Sergey Lapin, has doubted the legitimacy of the issue, suggesting that Fury 'continues to run' from Usyk. In this modern era, with all the advanced and protective head guards available to top level fighters, as well as the big gloves used in sparring, it seems impossible to me that he sustained such an injury in sparring.

“It's my instinct that something suspicious happened, maybe because Fury wasn't ready to fight. Maybe he was dropped heavily in sparring and they needed to buy themselves more time. But are we really surprised that Tyson Fury continues to run from Usyk?  This is nothing new.”

Doubts were raised over Fury's chances in the bout after he edged past debutant Francis Ngannou in his last fight in October. The world champion was dropped in the third round, with many fans believing he lost the fight overall despite a split-decision win.

The nature of the injury, Lapin claimed, points to one result this spring. 

“If Fury finally dares to enter the ring on May 18, then it will be a terrible dream for him, he has never boxed with a boxer of this level in his life.
— Daily Mail