Tyson Fury recently pulled out of an undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk, but Khabib Nurmagomedov’s former trainer Javier Mendez does not believe any rumours over the reason. A couple of Usyk’s team, and some pundits, have expressed their doubts that the cut that was suffered by Fury was necessarily accidentally incurred.
However, Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren has little time for such speculation, and speaking to Casino Alpha, Mendez backed up the idea that the circumstances were anything but unfortunate.
He said: “It's very far-fetched that Tyson Fury would do something like that given the great fighter that he is. My gut feeling is that Fury's cut is legit, and I don't see Tyson Fury avoiding any man.
“He stated on many occasions that he's not afraid of any man and he's one of the greatest heavyweights of our decade, so I find these stories about the cut very hard to believe [because] he's a great fighter and he's a champion. He’s been knocked down, and he gets back up.
“He's been knocked down more than once, and he keeps getting back up, and he wins. Tyson Fury is a true champion.”
The fight has now been arranged for May 18 (live on DAZN.com).
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