Oleksandr Usyk made a life-changing sacrifice when preparing for his now-postponed fight with Tyson Fury.
WBO, WBA and IBF champion Usyk was scheduled to go toe-to-toe with WBC champion Fury in the ‘Ring of Fire’ fight on Saturday, February 17, only for the Briton to postpone the bout because of a cut.
Explaining the injury, Fury said: "I arranged to spar 12 rounds with four different guys. In round five I got an elbow in the eye, a split eye, and obviously, I've been to the hospital and had 11 stitches.
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"They have the medical reports, they have everything. Nothing much anybody can do about getting a cut in sparring, s**t happens. I've never had one before, first time for everything."
Fury had been preparing for the heavyweight showdown from a training camp in Saudi Arabia, while Usyk is training for the fight in Spain.
The Ukrainian, who had been in training for several months, was so dedicated to the fight that he is said to have missed the birth of his fourth child.
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Usyk's wife Yekaterina gave birth to the couple’s child last Thursday but the boxer was unable to be at her side for the arrival of their baby daughter.
"I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but he missed his baby’s birth for this," Usyk's sparring partner Emanuel Odiase told Mirror Fighting.
"He was in Spain preparing when his wife was giving birth in Ukraine. He was so focused on camp that he stayed in Spain and he missed it for that, so it’s extra annoying [that the fight was postponed] I can imagine.
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"He’s been in Spain for two or three months, but his daughter was born a couple of days ago.
"He looked the best in this camp, as good as ever. I think he felt it as well. He was in good shape and then, boom, the fight is postponed.
"As the man he is, I don’t think he will get distracted. I wish them all the best and a lot of health, it’s annoying but that’s life. You’ve got to stay cool, calm and collected because if you let that stuff get in your head it’s not good for you."
The pair’s undisputed heavyweight world title clash has been rescheduled for May 18.
Topics: Boxing, Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury
Chris Byfield