Tyson Fury has been urged to ditch his father over his ‘pathetic’ behaviour during the Gypsy King’s devastating defeat to Oleksandr Usyk on the weekend.
Boxing fans have fumed at John Fury for barking orders in his son’s face as his trainers tried to coach him during the dramatic showdown in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
Fury Snr, who also headbutted a member of Usyk’s camp in the build-up to the fight, has been labelled a ‘sideshow act’ and ‘nothing more than a cheerleader’ after his son’s unbeaten record was left in tatters.
On a theatrical night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Fury taunted Usyk with showboating tactics, jinking his head side to side, gurning to the crowd and making a crude hand gesture as he was backed into a corner in the first round.
After ultimately failing to distract his opponent, Fury tried to discredit the Ukrainian’s monumental win by suggesting the judges sided with Usyk because ‘his country is at war’.
Tyson Fury has been urged to ditch his father over his ‘pathetic’ behaviour during the Gypsy King’s devastating defeat to Oleksandr Usyk on the weekend. Pictured: John Fury with blood on his face after headbutting a member of Usyk’s entourage
In the first round, Fury made faces at the crowd and made a rude hand gesture about Usyk
Later on, John Fury sparked anger from boxing fans after barking orders at his son over the voice of his trainers
As Usyk became boxing’s first four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion, fans claimed Fury’s father had been a hindrance to him during the fight as he shouted in his son’s ear over coach Andy Lee and trainer SugarHill Steward.
They urged Fury to axe his father for any future fights.
One said: ‘John Fury should be nowhere near any of Tyson Fury’s next fights. Sideshow act throughout.’
A second said: ‘John Fury headbutts the smallest guy in the room after doing nothing against bigger men. His behaviour gets more embarrassing and erratic at every event, it’s absolutely pathetic.’
A third user posted: ‘What an absolute shambles. John Fury shouting over Sugar Hill, Andy Lee, telling him he was winning and interrupting… complete mess. Embarrassing at any level. Usyk’s corner was controlled, concise and clear.’
A fourth wrote: ‘John Fury killed Tyson Fury’s boxing career. Prove me wrong.’
And a fifth said: ‘If Tyson Fury does do the rematch, they need to sort out that corner work. Oust John Fury, who was nothing more than a cheerleader. Should be one voice in the corner and that’s Sugar Hill Steward.’
A clip had showed Steward offering Fury advice ahead of the final two rounds of the fight, saying ‘Don’t cross your god damn legs, be ready to punch, before adding ‘Don’t be afraid to slide in, quit pulling back or you’ll get caught’.
Fury Snr could also be heard offering advice to his son, repeatedly saying ‘light punches, light punches. He was also heard talking over Steward telling Fury to ‘box and move’, while Fury was told by his corner that he was winning the fight.
The build-up to the fight was also dominated by Fury Snr who headbutted Stanislav Stepchuk, who was wearing Usyk’s team tracksuit. He then had to be restrained after security stepped in to prevent any further confrontation.
Fury taunted Usyk with showboating tactics, jinking his head side to side and gurning to the crowd
The build-up to the fight was dominated by Fury Snr who headbutted Stanislav Stepchuk. Fury and his father walk out after the headbutt
A battered and bruised Fury claimed that judges scored how they did because Ukraine is at war
In 2011, Fury Snr was found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm for gouging a man’s eye out in a brawl.
Fury Snr stands over his son and shouts at him as the Gypsy King’s trainers try to give him advice
Fury sticks his tongue out at Usyk ahead of the first bell
Fury Snr revealed afterwards that he become embroiled after members of Usyk’s camp repeatedly roared their man’s name at Fury’s entourage.
‘I was sat there minding my own business,’ he told IFLTV, wearing a cap that covered up the mark on his head. ‘All I could hear was, ‘Usyk, Usyk, Usyk’.
He described the chanting as ‘madness’ and said he launched the headbutt after ‘some little idiot came forward in my space’.
Fury Snr has a history of wreaking havoc at both Tyson and his other son Tommy’s fights. This includes calling out Mike Tyson for a fight, upsetting Tommy’s partner Molly Mae with a sexual remark and flipping a table at a press conference.
In 2011, he was found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm for gouging a man’s eye out in a brawl.
Fury was born in Tuam, Galway into a family rich in Traveller heritage. From a young age he trained as a boxer, making his professional debut in April 1987 against rugby player Adam Fogerty.
Boxing fans were furious at John Fury and urged Tyson to ditch him for any future fights
His career lasted eight years, during which time he fought in 13 bouts, winning against opponents including Michael Murray, a future British title challenger and Cesare Di Benedetto, a future Italian title challenger.
He is also said to have fought in bare-knuckle fights and claims he won £100,000 in one bout.
Outside of the ring, Fury had six children, Tyson, Tommy, Roman, Hughie, Shane and Romana. His only daughter, Romana tragically died aged just a few months.
Two of his children, Tyson and Tommy, are professional boxers, with Tyson leading the way as double heavyweight world champion.
Fury is backed into the ropes by Usyk during the heavyweight bout
The Gypsy King was no match for both the brilliance and modesty of Usyk who triumphed at the Kingdom Arena on Saturday
On this occasion, the Gypsy King was no match for both the brilliance and modesty of Usyk who triumphed at the Kingdom Arena on Saturday.
The fight went the distance after Fury survived a devastating blow in the ninth round, which sent him bouncing from rope to rope.
Somehow he managed to stay on his feet while Usyk chased him, attempting to land the killer blow.
But the referee Mark Nelson called a knockdown with Fury on the ropes, which he was entitled to do, giving him a standing count.
Former boxing champion David Haye told TNT Sports after: ‘If Fury was doing that to Usyk it would have been stopped. The referee stopped him and his opportunity.
‘Then gave him 20 seconds to completely recover. It looked really bad from ringside. Even Fury fans said, ‘thanks ref.”
The judges on the night scored the bout 115-112 Usyk, 114-113 Fury and 114-113 Usyk to see Usyk win via split-decision.
Fury continued to boast after the defeat, declaring ‘I believe I won’ and ‘I actually really enjoyed myself in there.’
The judges on the night scored the bout 115-112 Usyk, 114-113 Fury and 114-113 Usyk to see Usyk win via split-decision
In the immediate aftermath, a battered and bruised Fury told fans: ‘I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority.
‘His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war. Make no mistake, I won that fight in my opinion.’
He added: ‘It was one of the daftest decisions in boxing. I’ll be back.’
He sparked a backlash with his comments, with one user describing the fighter as ‘deluded’ and other blasting him for being ‘too cocky’.
Fury, who dominated the opening rounds before Usyk came back to control the fight, could not do enough on the night to maintain his unbeaten record.
Fury is set to bank another £100million from a rematch between the pair mooted to happen in October.
‘Make no mistake, I won that fight, in my opinion,’ he said. ‘I’ll be back. I’ve got a rematch clause. I’ve had a split-decision loss to a good little man.
Fury Snr takes off his top during a press conference for his son’s fight against Francis Ngannou in October
‘We go back, have a little rest up, spend some time with our families, and get it back on in October. I’m not going to sit here and cry and make excuses. It was a good fight.
‘We go back to our families and run it back in October. Good luck to Oleksandr, well done. God bless, happy New Year.’
A rematch may be the last thing that Fury’s wife Paris wants to watch – after she admitted she does not enjoy seeing her husband fight.
‘I hate it I’ve got to be truthful, that’s the flat out answer,’ she said before the fight.
‘I support him but I don’t enjoy it. I hate being there but on the other hand, I feel like I have to be there.
‘I feel like, if I’m not there, what happens if something goes wrong and I’m not with him?’
Fury has since been reunited with his wife back home in Morecambe and the pair spent the day taking bags of rubbish to a dump.