John Fury was caught in the middle of an extremely heated exchange between his son’s entourage and Oleksandr Usyk’s ahead of Tyson’s unification title fight this weekend, during which he was spotted headbutting a member of the opposing team.
The clip and images of John Fury‘s bleeding forehead quickly began circulating all over the internet, and now the boxing patriarch has come out to explain what led to the incident and why he headbutted Usyk faithful, Stanislav Stepchuk.
As can be seen in the original footage, it appears as though the only cause for the altercation was Stepchuk and co. chanting ‘Usyk!’ in support of the Ukrainian boxer as the Fury family and their followers were doing the same.
Cut to a few moments later and that’s exactly what you’ll find on John Fury’s face – a small gash after he decided to headbutt the considerably younger and smaller man from Usyk’s corner.
‼️ Full, close-up video of John Fury's headbutt clash with Oleksandr Usyk's team which left him bleeding today…
The moments leading up to and including the John Fury headbutt.
Fury was insistent that it was the opponents that started the confrontation, despite admitting he was already chanting Tyson‘s name, and that was seemingly what sparked not only an intense face-off between another member of Usyk’s team but was, apparently, enough to justify headbutting him too.
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As he explains to Sky Sports, “he disrespected my son, the greatest heavyweight to ever wear a pair of boxing gloves, coming out with all that rubbish. You know, he’s in my face, trying to be clever.
“[They were] coming into my space chanting… nobody was bothering with them. They stepped closer and closer, so at the end of the day I’m a warrior – that’s what we do, we’re fighting people”.
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He goes on to argue that the clash wasn’t even about the fight and that tensions weren’t necessarily that high prior to this flashpoint but that is simply normal behaviour in his world, quipping that’s “seven nights a week for me, we’re not interested.”
🗣️ 'They came into my space!’
Tyson Fury’s father John Fury gives his perspective of the clash between himself and Oleksandr Usyk’s camp in Riyadh pic.twitter.com/uXACHAdhHm
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) May 13, 2024
He’s been heavily criticised for the attack but here’s John Fury explaining why he decided to headbutt Usyk’s team member.
Speaking to iFL TV, Fury Sr. did admit that “emotions are running high” and that he was always going “stand up for my son”, labelling Stepchuk a “little idiot”.
As for his opposite number, who also appeared on camera with a cut on his forehead, he argued that Usyk’s team “didn’t offend him” and were simply chanting in support. As for the WBO, WBA (Super) and IBF title-holder himself, he labelled John Fury’s behaviour as “bipolar” and simply “bad behaviour”.
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John Fury has ultimately gone on to say sorry, telling Seconds Out: “Sincere apologies to everybody involved. It’s just the way we are. Emotions and tensions are running high. He was a very disrespectful fella,” adding, “If you come close in a fighting man’s space, you’re gonna cop for something.
Tyson Fury takes on Oleksandr Usyk in Riyad this Saturday, 18 May, with the latter looking to add the WBC belt to his collection and the Manc boxer looking to declare himself the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Who do you reckon is going to take it?
Featured Images — Sky Sports/Serge Lapin (via Michael Benson on X)
Sport
New Amazon Prime Video docuseries to show Pep Guardiola’s final seasons at Manchester City
Emily Sergeant
A new all-access docuseries featuring Pep Guardiola’s final few seasons at Manchester City is set to air this summer.
Coming exclusively to Prime Video in the UK and Ireland, the four-part documentary is set to take Manchester City fans and neutral viewers alike inside the club as the players and manager – who delivered an era of dominance -make way for a new generation.
Filmed over the past two seasons, this is the ultimate account of an emotional farewell that marks the end of an era in English football, and will offer unfiltered access to Guardiola, his squad, and the City boardroom.
After 10 trophy-filled years – which included six Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, three FA Cups, and five EFL Cups – Pep Guardiola called time on his tenure in Manchester last month, alongside fan favourite players Bernardo Silva and John Stones, as well as Kevin De Bruyne the season prior.
This new docuseries was there to follow them every step of the process.
Fans can follow City from a disappointing 2024/25 campaign right through to a domestic double the following season, charting the raw emotion of a squad in transition.
The series is directed by Academy and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker, Kevin Macdonald, alongside City Studios’ John De Caux, and is produced by Kevin Macdonald for Plan B/KM Films and Gavin Johnson and Ged Doherty for City Studios.
“This is the ultimate account of an emotional farewell that marks the end of an era in English football,” Amazon Prime Video said in a statement.
Joining Prime Video’s wide selection of sports programming, the series will be available to watch at no additional cost to Prime members this summer.
It’ll be ready to stream on 19 August.
Featured Image – Prime Video
Sport
Here’s our petition for ‘Wonderwall’ to become England’s new football anthem
Danny Jones
All things considered, England have made a great start to the 2026 World Cup, pitching themselves as one of the great entertainers this tournament, and the scenes of the supporters and players alike serenading an entire stadium with ‘Wonderwall’ after the full-time whistle gave us chills.
So why not time for a change?
After all, that feels a lot like what this World Cup squad is about: a new manager, new teammates, not clinging to the previous ways of playing – and perhaps it’s time to put ‘Sweet Caroline’ to one side.
Now, we’re by no means saying that we’re ‘done’ with the John Denver anthem that has been reborn as a Three Lions anthem, but look at how good it was watching England belting out Oasis with the fans.
“Today is gonna be the day that England beat Croatia 4-2”, as BBC’s Match of the Day cleverly quipped.
Obviously, we’re biased as Mancs, but we also think there’s something special about having that particular track feel so good to hear again.
As much as we love Oasis, for a long time, it felt like we couldn’t enjoy arguably their biggest-ever single anywhere near as much as we once did.
We assume it’s something akin to hearing ‘Mr Brightside’ non-stop for what felt like millennia, and in truth, hearing those repetitions of “ba, ba, ba… SO GOOD, SO GOOD!” over and over again at sporting fixtures beyond just national team games has taken the magic out of it at times.
Perhaps it’s just a case of saturation in certain settings and songs simply being overplayed – FIFA’s co-hosts over in the US certainly helped see to that when it came to ‘Wonderwall’ for a long time.
On the other hand, it feels like we’ve now come full circle; singing those famous lyrics at the top of our lungs in a sea of Mancs and fans travelling from all over to Heaton Park for Live ’25 last year felt better than ever, and like we’d all remembered how great a tune it’s always been. So did this…
In fact, this felt so emotional that you’ve got people who aren’t even English praising both those on the pitch and up in the stands for the moment online.
Even the admittedly rather American Man vs Food himself, Adam Richman (though he does have British ancestry), felt compelled to write a moving response on social media: “Shut up. You’re the one that’s crying. Bravo, England.”
He’s far from the only one who was left bowled over by the atmosphere – us included.
What do you think? Is it time for a new go-to tournament anthem for the Three Lions moving forward?
Danny Jones -
14th May 2024 
