Tyson Fury’s dad John has said that the heavyweight won’t fight Oleksandr Usyk until he “apologises for trying to bamboozle the public” and, as the Fury camp sees it, derailing the highly-anticipated fight.
Speaking to Seconds Out earlier this week, the boxing family patriarch admitted that the chances of the fight between Fury and Usyk are looking more doubtful by the day, with negotiations souring earlier this year following a debate over the purse.
However, in the middle of discussions, it looks as though things got a lot more personal and both camps have exchanged choice words since, with the Ukrainian calling Fury “greedy belly” for supposedly demanding a 70/30 split and John Fury labelling his son’s would-be opponent a “poison rabbit“.
Admittedly, boxing trash talk is always a world we’ll struggle to take fully seriously, but Fury senior still made it clear that the situation is no joke on their end, insisting that the WBC champion requires an apology before talk of a potential fight stand any chance of resuming.
John Fury has said Tyson Fury won't fight Oleksandr Usyk until he makes a public apology: “Unless he gets on video and tells the truth of what he did, there'll never be a fight for Usyk, never… It'll be when he apologises for trying to put the blame on Tyson.” [@SecondsOutLive]
“I’ll tell you what’s gonna happen here”, says Fury, “until he gets on and makes a proper video explaining what he did, tell the truth, he may never get the fight with Tyson. It’s gone past money now with Tyson. It’s gone past everything with us. They are taking the p***.
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He’s a nobody, Usyk. Yes he’s won a few belts off [Anthony Joshua]. You’ve seen how AJ’s been performing — he’s not performed for a while now… Tyson will iron him right out, and anybody in the game knows it.”
“They’re not good businessmen. What they’re doing now proves they’re all cowardly liars… There’s been no concrete offer anywhere, there’s been no money put forward, no deposits, nothing… he’s trying to turn the public against Tyson, which they’ve done a good job of because the public’s daft anyway”.
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Fury went on to assure that “unless he gets on the video and tells the truth of what he did, there will never be a fight for Usyk … If it ever does come off, [it will be] when he apologises for trying to bamboozle the public.” That being said, Tyson still seems to be hinting that something might happen:
Tyson Fury teasing a "big announcement coming" on Instagram this morning: "It's here, it's landed."
This, of course, doesn’t necessarily mean that he and the unified IBF, WBO and IBO title-holder have come to an agreement behind the scenes but it feels like the only concrete outcome fight fans would be interested in hearing about, that is, if the appeal is still even there.
Earlier this week, former boxer and four-time world champions Carl Froch told talkSPORT, “It’s getting frustrating now, it’s getting annoying listening to him because we all just wanna see Tyson Fury fight” — a sentiment that most would probably echo.
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Froch even went on to wonder “how serious he is now about fighting”, warning that “if he gets too out of shape and he’s out of the ring for too long, it gets past the point of no return and all of a sudden he’s gonna find himself in a hard fight against somebody who’s bang average”, let alone Usyk,
You can watch John Fury’s full interview on Second Out Live down below:
Whether or not Usyk feels like he owes the Furys an apology is another question entirely.
Featured Image — Tyson Fury/John Fury/Oleksandr Usyk (via Instagram)
Sport
‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
🔵 Subscribe to our Manchester City page on BBC Sounds for the latest interviews. #MCFC#bbcfootball
Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Sale Sharks sign highly-rated Harlequins hooker, Nathan Jibulu
Danny Jones
Sale Sharks are investing in youth with their latest bit of transfer business after signing one of the Harlequins’ hottest prospects, Nathan Jibulu.
The highly-rated hooker, who has already nine appearances this season, including more than half a dozen in the Gallagher Premiership, has been exciting plenty of scouts throughout rugby union and is already firmly in national team plans.
Having already been part of the England Under-20 and A squads, not to mention impressing at club level in a relatively short space of time, it’s a big coup for Sale.
From the Quins academy to the right side of Shark-infested waters.
Jibulu joined the Twickenham-based outfit back in 2022 just a year after they won their second English championship (a full decade since their first) after previously attending Seaford College and representing nearby Wimbledon Warriors.
However, now the six-foot and seriously strong forward will be swapping the life near the capital for the North and Greater Manchester, specifically.
Set to join Sale Sharks for the 2025/26 season – scheduled to kick off in September – he’s looking like a really strong addition to their front row and a future squads to come.
Speaking to the club in an official statement, he said: “When I was younger, whenever someone asked me, ‘what team would you want to play for?’ I’d always say Sale…
“I’ve scrummed a lot with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and I got to know him pretty well. I always tell him how special and different he is, and I can’t wait to play with him.
“The way the club has developed him and nurtured him to become an established Premiership and England player speaks volumes about the coaching and the support that he’s getting at Sale.
“The entire front row is in the England squad, with the Curry boys too, so that tells you that someone at the club is doing something right. I looked at that and I said, ‘why would you not want to be there?’”
Still just 22 years old and having made just as many appearances for his soon-to-be former club, Sale weren’t the only ones chasing his signature.
Jibulu went on to add: “I love those games where you go toe-to-toe physically, so all of that attracted me straight away, and then speaking to people who are there already, they said all the stuff that I really like so it was a no brainer when the opportunity came about.”
As for his impending coach, Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “Nathan is really driven, he understands what he wants from his life and his career, and he knows how he’s going to get it.
“He’s a young lad but he’s incredibly mature and he’s got the game and the physical attributes to match. I’ve got no doubt he’ll play for England in the future and we’re really excited to bring him to the club.”
Currently sat seventh in the table after another at times promising but somewhat frustrating start to the year, the summer can’t come soon enough for Sale.
Danny Jones -
23rd June 2023 
