World champion Oleksandr Usyk has revealed he missed the birth of his daughter, while training for a heavyweight title unification bout with Tyson Fury that was postponed, after the Briton suffered a cut in sparring.
Originally proposed for December 23rd and then locked in for February 17, the Riyadh fight has been rescheduled for the Saudi Arabian city on May 18.
The 'Ring of Fire' clash will unify Fury's WBC heavyweight championship with Ukrainian Usyk's WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, crowning the first unified heavyweight boxing champion since 1999.
Usyk has told reporters at his training camp on Spain's eastern coast that he sacrificed a lot to prepare for the fight and Fury should take the fight more seriously.
"I sacrificed all the days that we used to spend with my family - New Year, Christmas, my birthday, the birthday of my son, the birthday of my second son and, of course, the birth of my daughter," he said.
Usyk says he will now spend 2-3 days at home to hug his daughter and be with his wife, before returning to training. He was sparring in the ring when he was told about the latest postponement and questions Fury's training methods.
"I'm not judging anyone, but the thing is that we have to treat this more seriously," he said. "This is a very important and well-anticipated fight for the whole world.
"There are certain measures taken by highly professional fighters... normally, you use the headgear, using the big gloves, like 20 ounce gloves, for sparring.
"You apply Vaseline on the gloves of the sparring partners, you apply Vaseline on your mask, on your eyebrows, to avoid cuts, to avoid any kind of injuries.
"Because you are treating this in a different manner than a professional, you are jeopardising the whole event and you behave disrespectfully to people who are involved."
Fury says he has never before suffered a cut in sparring for a big fight.
Reuters
