Oleksandr Usyk has revealed the part he played in the stramash between his camp and Tyson Fury’s in the build-up to the fight.
John Fury - Tyson’s father - was once again at the centre of a pre-fight confrontation, this time in Saudi Arabia.
The younger Fury will fight Usyk live on DAZN on Saturday, May 18, to crown the first-ever undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
As Fury’s camp lined up against his opponent’s, Fury Sr. appeared to clash heads with Stanislav Stepchuk, and seemed to have incurred a cut on his head in the process.
Usyk told Sky Sports that he told his team to refrain from escalating the matter and adding fuel to the fire.
"I said, 'Hey, Team Usyk back. Step back, please'. Listen my team is very good if you want to fight, not boxing, street, shooting, knives, wrestling. But I said, 'Hey guys, please back. We must do good behaviour'," he said.
"My friend [Stepchuk], is a powerful guy. A street guy. Did you see the video, he was like a pitbull. I said, 'Stop!'"
Usyk added: "Everything is okay. My team is a great team. I said, 'Please not to fight'. My team stepped back.
"The problem is John Fury. It's bad behaviour. It's my opinion - bad behaviour!
"I don't know [if John Fury has apologised]. Listen, it doesn't matter. For me and for my team, it doesn't matter."
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