Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA is ready and willing to step in and save Tyson Fury’s skin again.The 35-year-old WBC heavyweight champion of the world has pulled out of the February 17 undisputed decider with WBA, IBF and WBO boss Oleksandr Usyk after suffering a cut in sparring.
Tyson Fury’s undisputed title fight with Oleksandr Usyk fell through this weekCredit: EPA
The fight was pushed back after Fury suffered a horror cut in sparringCredit: QUEENSBERRY PROMOTIONS
Anthony Joshua is willing to bring forward his showdown with Francis Ngannou to save Fury’s baconCredit: Getty
The disastrous news comes just three months after the Gypsy King’s terrible performance in the narrow October points win over boxing debutant Francis Ngannou led to the four-belt showdown getting pushed back.
London 2012 legend AJ leapt in and battered Otto Wallin to keep that December 23 Saudi Arabia show on, accepting just five weeks’ notice.
And SunSport understands the fearless 34-year-old would happily bring forward his March 8 clash with Ngannou, to keep the date with boxing’s Middle Eastern money men.
A source inside AJ Boxing SunSport: “Anthony has saved the day before and there’s no doubt he would be willing to do it again.
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“After beating Wallin, AJ had a brief Christmas holiday in Dubai and was straight back in the gym preparing for Francis Ngannou.
“AJ has been working with Saudi Arabia since 2019 and they know how dependable and trustworthy he is to deliver, even on short notice.”
The show organisers have already been ordered to tear down all the temporary facilities erected in Riyadh, suggesting there will be no miraculous Plan-B, even with AJ’s help.
Fury jetted out to the desert on January 2 to begin his training camp but now needs expert surgery on the nasty gash and is likely to be out of action for around three months.
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We understand Australian cruiserweight star Jai Opetaia gave the 6ft 9in Morecambe giant nightmares before his spell as a sparring partner was cut dramatically short.
And that 19-year-old southpaw prospect Moses Itauma also enjoyed plenty of success when shaping up with the undefeated giant.
However, it was 20-2 unknown Agron Smakici who inflicted the gash above Fury’s right eye.
Worryingly for the 20st skilster, it’s the same eye he suffered a 47-stitch wound on, after getting whacked by Wallin in 2019 and will need time to heal.
The wounded Traveller said: “I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such superb condition.
“I feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed.
What does this mean for boxing?The saddest thing is this didn’t really come as a surprise to the British boxing media, writes SunSport’s boxing correspondent Wally Downes.
Rumours of Fury struggling in sparring with cruiserweight King Jai Opetaia and teenage sensation Moses Itauma were rife.
It seemed unlikely that the Gypsy King would risk upsetting Turki Alalshikh and the Saudi paymaster. 
But now the disaster has officially hit.
As recently as Friday afternoon, SunSport was being invited to Usyk’s secret European camp for a media day on February 6.
And there was the release of the mega-money promo that merged about eight Hollywood films and cost silly million pounds.
If it’s only a cut, there is the outside chance Fury can be back in a few weeks.
But we saw against Otto Wallin that he’s vulnerable to a bleed that needed months to recover.
When Fury was dropped and useless against Francis Ngannou in October – delaying the original undisputed decider – the money men behind the scenes created an incredible replacement with AJ vs Wallin.
And they could do something absolutely crazy to compensate now.

“I can only apologise to everyone affected including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Usyk has done his training camp in Spain and is pressing ahead with a media day on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s 37-year-old former undisputed cruiserweight ruler is expected to push on with a fight on February 17.
Filip Hrgovic is the IBF’s long-waiting mandatory challenger but his recent run of form has been underwhelming and there will be minimal mainstream interest in that meeting, especially after all the excitement around Fury vs Usyk.
Usyk’s team have seen the online sparring footage of the incident that supposedly caused the deep cut.
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But they are not 100 per cent convinced that it is legitimate, after spending 18 months chasing a fight with the unpredictable Brit, after Usyk dethroned AJ with back-to-back points wins.
The no-nonsense team even claim that they expected a Fury stunt to blow the landmark bout so they are more disappointed than surprised. More

THE sparring partner who cut Tyson Fury and delayed his undisputed showdown with Oleksandr Usyk reportedly “doesn’t feel bad about it”.The biggest heavyweight fight in over a quarter of a century was postponed this week after Fury suffered a horror cut in one of his final sparring sessions.
Tyson Fury’s historic showdown with Oleksandr Usyk was postponed this weekCredit: GETTY
A huge cut on the brow of Fury’s right eye forced the postponement of the fightCredit: QUEENSBERRY PROMOTIONS
Fury suffered the gaping wound in one of his final spars before the fight
Croatian heavyweight Agron Smakici inflicted the cut on Fury but doesn’t ‘feel bad’ about itCredit: GETTY
Fury, 35, had the scar tissue left from the nasty cut he received in his 2019 Las Vegas showdown with Swedish slugger Otto Wallin re-opened in the ill-fated spar.
Footage of the incident appeared to show that an accidental elbow was the cause of the costly cut, which required a whopping 15 stitches.
But the man responsible for delaying the first-ever undisputed heavyweight showdown in the four-belt era has zero remorse for his actions.
Multiple sources have confirmed to SunSport that Croatian heavyweight Agron Smakici was the sparring partner who cut Fury.
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But the 6’6 giant – who is also a mixed martial artist – insists that it was his left hand, not his left elbow, that cut the brow of Fury’s eye.
According to Boxing Talk, Smakici said of the incident: “It was a clear punch so I don’t feel bad.”
Smakici was a recent addition to Fury’s team of sparring partners, which initially included former IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia and undefeated Brit heavyweight Moses Itauma.
His joining the camp wasn’t a surprise given his experience sparring with top heavyweights, including Fury’s Brit rival Anthony Joshua.
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Argon Smakici is a two-time sparring partner of Tyson Fury’s Brit rival Anthony JoshuaCredit: Instagram @agron_smakici
Smakici helped AJ prepare for his recent clash with Otto Wallin and his rematch with UsykCredit: INSTAGRAM@AGRON_SMAKICI
The slick southpaw was recently drafted in by Team AJ to help the former two-time unified heavyweight champion prepare for his ‘Day of Reckoning’ clash with Wallin.
And he was also one of Joshua’s chief sparring partners for his rematch with Usyk in August 2022.
Smakici, 33, posted a series of snaps of himself and AJ to his Instagram ahead of the bout with the accompanying caption: “Helping AJ for next fight.”
WBC heavyweight champ Fury will need at least “90 days” to recover from the horror cut before he can resume full sparring.
His cutman told Jorge Capetillo told Betway: “I would say it will take 90 days at least to recover from a cut in sparring.
“Hopefully the fight can happen in the summer because it’s such unfortunate news.
What does this mean for boxing?The saddest thing is this didn’t really come as a surprise to the British boxing media, writes SunSport’s boxing correspondent Wally Downes.
Rumours of Fury struggling in sparring with cruiserweight King Jai Opetaia and teenage sensation Moses Itauma were rife.
It seemed unlikely that the Gypsy King would risk upsetting Turki Alalshikh and the Saudi paymaster. 
But now the disaster has officially hit.
As recently as Friday afternoon, SunSport was being invited to Usyk’s secret European camp for a media day on February 6.
And there was the release of the mega-money promo that merged about eight Hollywood films and cost silly million pounds.
If it’s only a cut, there is the outside chance Fury can be back in a few weeks.
But we saw against Otto Wallin that he’s vulnerable to a bleed that needed months to recover.
When Fury was dropped and useless against Francis Ngannou in October – delaying the original undisputed decider – the money men behind the scenes created an incredible replacement with AJ vs Wallin.
And they could do something absolutely crazy to compensate now.

“The cut needs to heal really good and then Tyson can get back in action, back in training and get back in camp so it will be at least a few months for sure.
“Accidents can happen in sparring, and this is what has happened with Tyson so he will need time to heal.
“It will now reopen during the fight if they continued into the fight so now he needs time out to make sure it doesn’t open up with a first punch from Oleksandr Usyk.
“Obviously during camp, sparring sessions when getting ready for a fight of this calibre means you bring the best sparring partners you can and work hard in sparring but sometimes it’s very tough and things like this can happen.
“We always try to prevent that and make sure the fighter has a healthy camp, but this is part of the game.
“This is a fight that requires the best of the best with the best sparring partners.
Tyson Fury’s cutman says his horror wound will need at least ’90 days’ to healCredit: EPA
“When there’s a cut happened by a punch, the opponent can get a TKO if the fight gets stopped so all of that stuff is important to have precaution.
“I know how hard Tyson was working for this fight. His work ethic, his discipline, he was working really hard like always and was so hungry for this fight.
“But these things happen, and cuts happen.”
Uysk, 37, has yet to break his silence on the postponement of the biggest fight of his career but is still training to fight on February 17.
But his manager has sensationally claimed Fury deliberately got injured so he could pull out of the fight.
Egis Klimas told Ring Magazine: “Fury is a f***ing coward who will do anything not to face Usyk.
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“And he asked his b***h to hit him with a frying pan in his brow.
“You can quote me word for word for that.” More

TYSON FURY’s scathing rant at David Haye following the cancellation of their grudge match has re-emerged following the postponement of his clash with Oleksandr Usyk.The pair’s historic undisputed heavyweight title fight was officially postponed on Friday after the Gypsy King suffered a horror cut in sparring.
Tyson Fury’s historic showdown with Oleksandr Usyk was postponed after he suffered a huge cutCredit: EPA
The Gypsy King issued a heartfelt apology after revealing his horror gashCredit: QUEENSBERRY PROMOTIONS
Fury wasn’t as kind when David Haye was forced to pull out of their 2013 clash due to a cutCredit: SUNSPORT
An accidental elbow from one of his sparring partners re-opened scar tissue formed from the gash he suffered in his 2019 showdown with Otto Wallin.
Fury, 35, issued a heartfelt apology shortly after the news broke, although he wasn’t as kind when a cut forced Haye to pull out of their 2013 showdown.
In a scathing tweet, the WBC heavyweight champion said: “The cut is genuine. Correct you can’t box with the cut.
“Correct has to be cancelled. That’s why he’s cut so he can pull out. S***house.”
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Fury’s fiery rant at the now-retired Haye went viral in the hours following his cut-enforced withdrawal from his long-overdue fight with Usyk.
And boxing fans were quick to comment, with one saying: “Now what do we have here?
Another said: “There’s always an old tweet with Tyson. Tyson is a student of the game TBF.”
And another said: “Time is a flat circle.”
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Tyson Fury’s statement in fullTYSON Fury has apologised to boxing fans after suffering a horrific cut to his eye in training.
Fury said: “I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such superb condition.
“I feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed.
“I can only apologise to everyone affected including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
He also posted on instagram, with the caption: “Can’t help getting injured in sparring but what I can say was Usyk was in trouble.
“I am in fantastic shape. I will resheduel (sic) soon as i can. 2024 a massive year for team GK #undisputed #wbcking”

One remarked: “Tyson Fury reacting to David Haye pulling out with a cut a few weeks before their fight that never happened.
“[Is] history repeating itself?!”
Another chimed in: “It might take 11 years but in the end, karma always shows up.”
The irony wasn’t lost on former WBA heavyweight champ Haye, who has revealed he wanted a similar fate to befall Fury.
He said: “Fury suffers a cut a couple of weeks before the fight. I know that pain all so well – in 2013 when I was scheduled to fight Tyson Fury, I suffered a cut.
“And oh did I not hear the end of it from him.
“I actually remember at the time thinking, ‘I hope one day before one of his big fights he has to suffer this.’
“‘He’s been that much of a d**k about it.’ And here we are. But I don’t feel that good about it at all.”
Fury had 15 stitches to close the horror wound that has delayed his bid for undisputed heavyweigt supremacy.
And his cutman has revealed he’ll need at least “THREE MONTHS” to recover from the nasty gash.
Jorge Capetillo told Betway: “I would say it will take 90 days at least to recover from a cut in sparring.
“Hopefully the fight can happen in the summer because it’s such unfortunate news.
Tyson Fury’s cutman says he’ll need at least 90 days to heal from his horror cutCredit: EPA
“The cut needs to heal really good and then Tyson can get back in action, back in training and get back in camp so it will be at least a few months for sure.
“Accidents can happen in sparring, and this is what has happened with Tyson so he will need time to heal.
“It will now reopen during the fight if they continued into the fight so now he needs time out to make sure it doesn’t open up with a first punch from Oleksandr Usyk.
“Obviously during camp, sparring sessions when getting ready for a fight of this calibre means you bring the best sparring partners you can and work hard in sparring but sometimes it’s very tough and things like this can happen.
“We always try to prevent that and make sure the fighter has a healthy camp, but this is part of the game.
“This is a fight that requires the best of the best with the best sparring partners.
“When there’s a cut happened by a punch, the opponent can get a TKO if the fight gets stopped so all of that stuff is important to have precaution.
“I know how hard Tyson was working for this fight.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“His work ethic, his discipline, he was working really hard like always and was so hungry for this fight.
“But these things happen, and cuts happen.”
What does this mean for boxing?The saddest thing is this didn’t really come as a surprise to the British boxing media, writes SunSport’s boxing correspondent Wally Downes.
Rumours of Fury struggling in sparring with cruiserweight King Jai Opetaia and teenage sensation Moses Itauma were rife.
It seemed unlikely that the Gypsy King would risk upsetting Turki Alalshikh and the Saudi paymaster. 
But now the disaster has officially hit.
As recently as Friday afternoon, SunSport was being invited to Usyk’s secret European camp for a media day on February 6.
And there was the release of the mega-money promo that merged about eight Hollywood films and cost silly million pounds.
If it’s only a cut, there is the outside chance Fury can be back in a few weeks.
But we saw against Otto Wallin that he’s vulnerable to a bleed that needed months to recover.
When Fury was dropped and useless against Francis Ngannou in October – delaying the original undisputed decider – the money men behind the scenes created an incredible replacement with AJ vs Wallin.
And they could do something absolutely crazy to compensate now. More

TYSON FURY will need at least “THREE MONTHS” to recover before he can start sparring again following the costliest cut of his career.The Gypsy King was forced to withdraw from his historic undisputed heavyweight title fight with Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi later this month after suffering a horror gash on his right eyebrow in sparring.
Tyson Fury’s undisputed title fight with Oleksandr Usyk has been postponedCredit: EPA
The Gyspy King suffered a horror cut above his right eye in sparringCredit: QUEENSBERRY PROMOTIONS
The cut was caused by an accidental elbow from his sparring partner
Fury’s cutman Capetillo says he’ll need at least THREE MONTHS to healCredit: INSTAGRAM@JORGECAPETILLO02
An accidental elbow from one of his training partners reopened scar tissue left from the cut he received in his September 2019 clash with Otto Wallin.
The cut required significant stitching, so much so that Fury won’t be able to face Usyk until the “SUMMER” at the absolute earliest.
The WBC heavyweight champion’s cutman Jorge Capetillo told Betway: “I would say it will take 90 days at least to recover from a cut in sparring.
“Hopefully the fight can happen in the summer because it’s such unfortunate news.
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“The cut needs to heal really good and then Tyson can get back in action, back in training and get back in camp so it will be at least a few months for sure.
“Accidents can happen in sparring, and this is what has happened with Tyson so he will need time to heal.”
Capetillo insists the wound would have immediately re-opened had the fight gone ahead and could have led to a TKO loss.
He said: “It will now reopen during the fight if they continued into the fight so now he needs time out to make sure it doesn’t open up with a first punch from Oleksandr Usyk.
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Tyson Fury’s statement in fullTYSON Fury has apologised to boxing fans after suffering a horrific cut to his eye in training.
Fury said: “I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such superb condition.
“I feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed.
“I can only apologise to everyone affected including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
He also posted on instagram, with the caption: “Can’t help getting injured in sparring but what I can say was Usyk was in trouble.
“I am in fantastic shape. I will resheduel (sic) soon as i can. 2024 a massive year for team GK #undisputed #wbcking”

“Obviously during camp, sparring sessions when getting ready for a fight of this calibre means you bring the best sparring partners you can and work hard in sparring but sometimes it’s very tough and things like this can happen.
“We always try to prevent that and make sure the fighter has a healthy camp, but this is part of the game.
“This is a fight that requires the best of the best with the best sparring partners.
“When there’s a cut happened by a punch, the opponent can get a TKO if the fight gets stopped so all of that stuff is important to have precaution.
“I know how hard Tyson was working for this fight.
“His work ethic, his discipline, he was working really hard like always and was so hungry for this fight.
What does this mean for boxing?The saddest thing is this didn’t really come as a surprise to the British boxing media, writes SunSport’s boxing correspondent Wally Downes.
Rumours of Fury struggling in sparring with cruiserweight King Jai Opetaia and teenage sensation Moses Itauma were rife.
It seemed unlikely that the Gypsy King would risk upsetting Turki Alalshikh and the Saudi paymaster. 
But now the disaster has officially hit.
As recently as Friday afternoon, SunSport was being invited to Usyk’s secret European camp for a media day on February 6.
And there was the release of the mega-money promo that merged about eight Hollywood films and cost silly million pounds.
If it’s only a cut, there is the outside chance Fury can be back in a few weeks.
But we saw against Otto Wallin that he’s vulnerable to a bleed that needed months to recover.
When Fury was dropped and useless against Francis Ngannou in October – delaying the original undisputed decider – the money men behind the scenes created an incredible replacement with AJ vs Wallin.
And they could do something absolutely crazy to compensate now.

“But these things happen, and cuts happen.”
Team Usyk were left devastated by the news of Fury’s cut, although the Ukrainian’s manager has sensationally claimed the Brit deliberately got injured in a bid to avoid the former cruiserweight king.
Egis Klimas told Ring Magazine: “Fury is a f***ng coward who will do anything not to face Usyk.
“And he asked his b***h to hit him with a frying pan in his brow.
“You can quote me word for word for that.”
Oleksandr Usyk has continued training despite the cancellation of his fight with Tyson FuryCredit: instargram @alex.krassyuk

Fan favourite Usyk has yet to speak on the postponement of the Riyadh rumble.
But the former undisputed cruiserweight king is still preparing to fight on February 17.
Promoter Alex Krassyuk posted a video of the 37-year-old sparring to his Instagram story last night with the accompanying caption: “Usyk right now.”
Fury’s childhood sweetheart and wife Paris took to social media late on Friday night to reveal her reaction to the horror cut.
She wrote on her Instagram story: “My full body was shaking with nerves when he showed me this cut because I wasn’t there with him.
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“He sounded so p***ed off and disappointed.
“But this is boxing (a dangerous sport) and these things can happen.” More

PARIS FURY has revealed that her whole body was “shaking” when she saw the cut that caused her husband Tyson’s fight with Oleksandr Usyk to be postponed.The Gypsy King had been due to fight Usyk in Saudi Arabia on February 17.
Tyson Fury and wife Paris have been married since 2008Credit: Instagram / @parisfury1
Fury suffered a deep cut above his eyeCredit: X @Queensbury
The Gypsy King had otherwise looked in top conditionCredit: Instagram @tysonfury
Fury, 35, appeared to be cut in sparring
But after suffering a cut in sparring, an apologetic Fury had to pull out.
The 35-year-old admitted that he is “absolutely devastated” to have had to withdraw from the £100million Fight of the Century.
And wife Paris, 34, is also gutted.
Posting on Instagram after the announcement, she wrote: “My full body was shaking with nerves when he showed me this cut because I wasn’t there with him.
READ MORE ON PARIS FURY
“He sounded so p***ed off and disappointed, but this is boxing (a dangerous sport) and these things can happen.”
The couple have been married since 2008 and have seven kids together; Venezuela, 14, Prince John James, 12, Prince Tyson II, seven, Valencia, six, Prince Adonis Amaziah, four, Athena, two, and Prince Rico Paris Fury, born in September last year.
Footage has emerged of Fury appearing to be struck by an elbow in training.
Announcing that the fight was off, he said: “I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such superb condition.
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“| feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed.
“I can only apologise to everyone affected including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
The dejected WBC heavyweight champion shared a picture of himself looking in otherwise brilliant shape.
Usyk’s representatives have reportedly been told that Fury will be out for “several months” after having 15 stitches.
It’s now claimed that Filip Hrgovic could step in for Fury to fight Usyk on February 17.
Despite Fury’s withdrawal, Usyk was spotted still training on Friday night.
Promoter Frank Warren has assured that the blockbuster bout will still take place at a later date.
Asked by talkSPORT if the fight still happens when Fury has recovered, the 71-year-old said: “Of course I do. It’s what everybody signed up for.
“It’s a huge fight – the biggest fight this century, there’s no doubt about that.
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“It’s the fight that everybody wanted and because of the Riyadh Season, His Excellency and all his team, that’s why the fight is happening and nothing is going to impair it or stop it going on.
“It’s unfortunate where we are but we will make sure that it will occur because it’s the fight that everybody wants to see.”
What does this mean for boxing?The saddest thing is this didn’t really come as a surprise to the British boxing media, writes SunSport’s boxing correspondent Wally Downes.
Rumours of Fury struggling in sparring with cruiserweight King Jai Opetaia and teenage sensation Moses Itauma were rife.
It seemed unlikely that the Gypsy King would risk upsetting Turki Alalshikh and the Saudi paymaster. 
But now the disaster has officially hit.
As recently as Friday afternoon, SunSport was being invited to Usyk’s secret European camp for a media day on February 6.
And there was the release of the mega-money promo that merged about eight Hollywood films and cost silly million pounds.
If it’s only a cut, there is the outside chance Fury can be back in a few weeks.
But we saw against Otto Wallin that he’s vulnerable to a bleed that needed months to recover.
When Fury was dropped and useless against Francis Ngannou in October – delaying the original undisputed decider – the money men behind the scenes created an incredible replacement with AJ vs Wallin.
And they could do something absolutely crazy to compensate now. More