“Tyson doesn’t want me to tell it.”

Tyson Fury has had a ‘secret’ about his sparring cut revealed by Saudi Arabian royal adviser Turki Alalshikh.

WBC champion Fury was due to face WBA, IBF and WBO belt holder Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed heavyweight title fight in Saudi Arabia on February 17 – in an event dubbed ‘Ring of Fire’.

However, the bout was called off on Friday after Fury sustained a cut above his right eye during a sparring session.

Fury, Usyk and Alalshikh appeared on The MMA Hour With Ariel Helwani on Saturday evening to announce the fight had been rearranged for May 18.

Alalshikh also revealed that Usyk and Fury will receive a £10m payment from their opponent if they pull out of the new fight date.

“I guarantee both of the fighters £10m if someone escapes from the fight. This is the first thing, and the second thing – I guarantee a big fight on the same night for another one,” said Alalshikh.

“Make the people around the world know if someone is scared and wants to escape from this fight. May 18th – we will have Tyson vs Usyk.”

Alalshikh went on to claim that Fury originally intended to face Usyk on February 17, even after sustaining the cut in training.

“I want to tell you something that is a secret. Tyson doesn’t want me to tell it,” added Alalshikh.

“He wanted to fight on the 17^th even with the cut and I said ‘I am not crazy to put you in the ring with this cut. It will be a circus, not a fight.’”

Alalshikh’s comments come after some questioned the timing of Fury’s cut, just two weeks out from original fight date.

Conspiracy theories circulated on social media after the fight was postponed, which claimed that Fury was intentionally trying to avoid facing Fury .

However, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn was quick to dismiss those conspiracy claims and stated that setbacks like this are common in boxing.

“It looks like a bad cut,” Hearn told iFL TV.

Fury will now fight Usyk on May 18 (Image: Getty)

“I’ve seen in the footage that it’s an elbow or something like that. He spars with an open head guard, but he’s sparred thousands of rounds in his career.

“Even in my group chats with my mates saying, ‘That sounds fishy to me’, I’m like ‘Guys, what do you think? He’s not just going to go out and carve himself open with a knife!’.

“He’s trained a whole camp, it’s two weeks away from a monster pay day and a fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship.

“It’s not a hooky, it’s boxing, it happens, but it’s devastating that it happens to a fight of that magnitude.”

Meanwhile, Alalshikh said Fury would have no excuses if he refused to fight Usyk in May.

“Even if he isn’t ready by the 18^th, he will fight. I will accept it because we have a deadline with the IBF,” added Alalshikh.

“I don’t want a headache with the IBF. We have a contract, a deadline – we will deliver this fight.”

Mike Tyson had a priceless exchange with director Todd Phillips.

Mike Tyson had an epic response when film director Todd Phillips tried to teach him how to punch in the film The Hangover.

Tyson, who knocked out 44 opponents in his legendary boxing career, starred in the 2009 comedy and played himself.

One of the scenes sees him get physical with Alan Garner, played by Zach Galifianakis, upon entering a Las Vegas villa.

‘Iron’ Mike floors Alan with a huge right hand, with the behind-the-scenes look of the scene making for hilarious viewing.

Phillips, who also directed the likes of Road Trip, Old School and Borat, asked the former world heavyweight champion if he needed any help with the punch to which he replied in brilliant fashion,

Tyson had the cast and crew in stitches when he said: “The captain of the Jewish debating team is going to teach me how to throw a punch.”

Ed Helms, who plays Stu, said: “It was amazing. It was like the best insult I have ever heard.”

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Tyson would later reveal in 2012 that he was ‘high on cocaine’ and only accepted the role in the film to fund his drug addiction.

But the cast members helped him to change his lifestyle for the better and even got an invite for The Hangover 2.

“They had to know I was messed up. I couldn’t talk. I had the cocaine talk,” Tyson said on In Depth With Graham Bensinger.

“So those guys are just beautiful people. They had my back, and I appreciate that and stuff, then they asked me to come back [in The Hangover 2].”

Tyson made a cameo appearance in The Hangover 2 as he sang at Stu’s wedding after being invited by Alan.

The Hangover series aside, he’s also starred in Scary Movie 5, Grudge Match and Entourage, among others.

Fury has put his cards on the table.

John Fury has challenged his rival to a huge fight at Wembley Stadium with a special guest as the referee.

While Tyson Fury and Tommy Fury do their talking in and out of the ring, their father John tends to just spout off off social media.

However, the 59-year-old former boxer has now challenged his long-time rival Carl Froch to a blockbuster showdown at Wembley.

Fury and the former super middleweight world champion have developed a feud in recent years, with Froch publicly criticising Tyson Fury for pulling out of his world title fight against Oleksandr Usyk.

Months of prolonged negotiations went into the scheduled meeting between Fury and Usyk, but ‘The Gypsy King’ was forced to pull out of the fight at late notice due to a cut to his face sustained while sparring.

Now, Fury Sr has challenged Froch to a fight.

“You’ve had plenty to say, mate, on your little podcast channel,” Fury addressed Froch in a video uploaded to Instagram.

“You know, John Fury has rung the bell for you again, got you plenty of content, plenty of viewing figures – what you were after.

“But listen, your mate George Groves said something very interesting. You and me, Wembley Stadium, 93,000 crowd, I’m up for that my friend.

“Let’s put it this way: you’ve had plenty to say, I have [too], I stand by every word I’ve said. You don’t like me, let’s see what you can do about it.

‼️ John Fury on Instagram today challenging Carl Froch to a fight at Wembley Stadium: “John Fury will not back out of a fight with you my friend.” [🎥 Roman Fury]

“Hater vs top father, that’s what we’ll call this. But, it’s got to make top business sense, because this is a business, lets not forget that.

“Get your people to contact me directly, just me, I’m a one-man band. Let’s talk the business side of it, get the contracts drawn up, and i will fight you at Wembley Stadium, this year. Don’t you worry about that.

“John Fury will not back out of a fight with you my friend.”

Groves weighed in on the ware of words, offering to referee the fight himself during an interview with IFL TV.

“I’ll be the ref, I’ll let anything slide,” the former boxer and close friend of Froch said.

“Froch is ready to go isn’t he, he’s ready to go. We will see Froch-Fury before we see [Tyson] Fury-Usyk.”

Oleksandr Usyk appeared to aim a dig at Tyson Fury with his choice of eyewear.

Oleksandr Usyk appeared to aim a dig at Tyson Fury with his choice of eyewear following the collapse of their undisputed clash.

Fury sustained a nasty cut above his eye in sparring which postponed their February 17, with a new date of May 18 set.

The sparring partner who inflicted the cut on Fury has given his side of the story, revealing he was insulted before the slashing strike.

Usyk shared his thoughts on the postponement of the fight and seemed to poke fun of Fury in the process.

During the rounds of media, the Ukrainian sported a pair of protective eyewear in an apparent taunt at the cut suffered by the undefeated British star.

Whilst speaking to Boxing King Media, the WBA (super), IBF and WBO champion was donning a pair of thick glasses seemingly designed to protect his eyes and the surrounding area.

“I’m not upset. I trust in God, whichever way he is leading me is the best way,” he said of the postponement.

Image: Boxing King Media

Conspiracy theories circulated on social media after the fight was postponed, which claimed that Fury was intentionally trying to avoid Usyk.

But the notion that Fury is scared of Usyk angered Frank Warren, who hit out at the critics.

“Tyson wants [the fight]. Some of the stuff that’s been going out, I’ve never heard anything like it,” said Warren.

“Has Tyson got make-believe stitches in his eye? What they’re saying is libellous and scandalous.”

Fury has returned to Morecambe to undergo treatment on his eye, having based himself in Saudi Arabia.

“He’ll want to be with his family,” the legendary promoter added.

“He can’t continue training as such. He can tick over. He can get on the bike and keep well but when you’re training for a fight you’re training to reach your ultimate best, your peak.

“Now he has to wind down and set everything back in motion to get himself up and ready and make sure he’s at his best for 18 May.”

UFC legend makes extremely bold Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou prediction

Rashad Evans has made a huge claim about Francis Ngannou ahead of his fight against Anthony Joshua.

UFC legend Rashad Evans has made an extremely bold prediction about Francis Ngannou ahead of his monstrous fight against Anthony Joshua.

Ngannou took Tyson Fury the distance in his boxing debut last year after leaving the UFC as the promotion’s heavyweight champion.

He dropped the WBC title holder en route to losing a controversial decision on the judges’ scorecards.

Ngannou will get another crack at one of the other big players in the heavyweight division as he faces Joshua on March 8.

Mike Tyson reacts to Francis Ngannou’s ‘Superman’ punch on Tyson Fury
Credit: Instagram @miketyson

Joshua, who used to hold the world heavyweight titles before surrendering them to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021, is on a three-fight winning streak, having suffered back-to-back defeats to the undefeated Ukrainian star.

‘AJ’ returned to the win column after beating Jermaine Franklin before stopping Robert Helenius.

And he destroyed Otto Wallin on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in his last outing in a masterful performance as he seemed to roll back the years.

The Brit welcomes the ex-MMA star back to the ring, with former UFC light-heavyweight champion Evans backing Ngannou to become the world heavyweight champion in boxing.

“I mean, it’s hard for me to put anything past Francis, man. That performance and now he’s gonna be fighting Anthony Joshua,” he told Give Me Sport.

“I mean, I think he’s gonna do it. I made a prediction at the end of [2023] and I said: ‘I think that Francis Ngannou is gonna be a heavyweight boxing champ by the end of the year’.”

Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou go head-to-head. Image: Getty

Even though the former UFC king didn’t beat Fury, he shocked the boxing world with his showing against arguably the best fighter in the division and garnered huge praise.

Just months after troubling the self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’, he will look to get off the mark in the boxing ranks when he takes on Joshua next month.

Mike Tyson retired in the year 2005. However, he made his return in the squared circle against Roy Jones Jr. back in 2020 in an exhibition bout. Despite being 57 years of age, ‘The Baddest man ever,’ impressed the fans with the skills he possesses even today. Moreover, in a recent turn of events, ‘Iron Mike,’ welcomes the possibility of making a comeback but in a bare-knuckle contest.

Intriguingly, back in 2020, ‘Bare knuckle fighting champion,’ had made an offer to, ‘Iron Mike,’ for a contest under their banner. It is reported that the offer was worth a whopping $20 million to face a retired MMA fighter: Wanderlei Silva.  In a recent episode of ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson,’ with MMA fighter, Jorge Masvidal as the guest, the former Heavyweight champion was down to compete in BKFC— But what was his reason? Let’s find out

Why does Mike Tyson want to compete in BKFC?

As of today, Tyson has cemented himself as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Not to mention, he continues to be in the public limelight and has multiple businesses to look after. However, Tyson is keen to compete and will not mind competing for BKFC if it is lucrative. When asked about the possibility of competing in the league, he responded in the affirmative and stated, “If they paid me. I’ll do anything if they paid me.

”Thereafter, he expressed his opinion on this style of fighting. He asserted that bare knuckle combat is not different from any other sport as the competitions are intended to hurt each other at the end of day. And in either case, one is bound to be hurt. Reflecting on the same, he stated, “Idk it’s the hurt business. We all in the hurt business. This is just a different form of hurt game. Nothing is guaranteed. Somebody might get knocked out in 8 seconds. Nothing is guaranteed.”

It would be fair to say that Tyson is far from being intimidated and is open for the contest. Given his ferocious style of fighting and larger-than-life aura, his potential bout in BKFC would be a spectacle for the ages. Will it take place? Only time can reveal. Until then, let’s dive in on him talking about competing in the squared circle at his age.

Tyson gets candid about fighting post retirement

The former Heavyweight champion misses competing and is eager to get back. In an episode of his podcast, he was asked about making a comeback again. In response, he admitted he has a vehement desire for the same but is unsure of his capabilities. He stated, “Hell I can always fight, I don’t know how good Imma do.”

John Fury vs Mike Tyson: It could be an undercard fight before Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou

Tyson Fury’s father, John, has expressed his desire to step into the ring against heavyweight legend Mike Tyson on the same night where his son will face Francis Ngannou.

Fury is set to take on MMA star Ngannou in Riyadh on October 6, a bout that has left many fight enthusiasts disappointed, as they had hoped to see Fury face a more credible opponent in the traditional boxing ring.

Will John Fury attend Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou?

“Let me tell you, I’ll swim there,” John Fury told Seconds Out when he was asked about his plans to attend the fight.

“If there are no planes available I’ll swim, and I can’t swim.

“I’ll get two armbands and I’ll set off today. I’ll be in Saudi don’t worry about that.”

John Fury wants to fight Mike Tyson

John Fury then stressed that he wouldn’t mind speaking to Mike Tyson, who has been training Ngannou ahead of the bout, and called out the boxing legend for a potential undercard fight before the main event.

“I love the guy, I named my son after him,” Fury said of the boxing legend.

“And if he wants to fight me on the undercard, he can, no problem.

“I’m a fighting man, I’m old, but I’m a fighting man. He’s a fighting man. He’s old.

“We’re two geriatrics. If he wants to fight me and I want to fight him, which I do, I’ve made it quite clear we can do it.

Credits: IMAGO / Eibner

There are not many things Lewis Hamilton hesitates to try outside of the F1 world. Be it fashion or traveling to unique destinations and music, the seven-time champion does it all. One such surprising skill he possesses is handling a gun! Hollywood Firearms expert Taran Butler revealed this anecdote on the Rock Sugar Magic podcast about how he feels Hamilton is the best to ever hold a gun!

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As quoted by user Stefanie on Twitter (now X), Butler said, “Lewis Hamilton, He is literally like an A-class level.” When the host asked him if the Briton ever shot before, he said, “He never shot before”.

Butler narrated how Hamilton told him that he once shot a rifle in the snow somewhere, to which the firearms expert told him that it doesn’t count. So under his supervision, when the Mercedes driver did some shooting, Butler was quite impressed with the 39-year-old.

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Butler told on the podcast, “He is just unreal. If I had him more often he would… he is the best that ever held the gun”. It is quite insane to even imagine Hamilton having an interest in guns and firearms. Butler feels the 39-year-old has a natural knack for it. So, one would wonder if Hamilton would actively pursue shooting as a hobby moving forward.

Why doesn’t Lewis Hamilton indulge in shooting more often?

Back in 2015, Lewis Hamilton got caught with some bad timing when he indulged in some shooting at a range. According to FormulaPassion, one of his friends posted the video on his socials. However, that video caused an uproar of controversy.

The reason was that during that period a gunman had opened fire on a passenger train from Amsterdam to France. So, when fans saw Hamilton’s machine gun video, they did not take it too kindly. While the Mercedes driver ignored the trolling, Niki Lauda, who was the non-executive director of the team, asked the 39-year-old to delete the footage.

Lauda reasoned, “I know Lewis well and know that he means well. But I’ll ask him to remove the video from the internet.” The three-time champion highlighted how Hamilton had become a rock star, so he had an image to protect. Lauda then added, “At the same time you also have to see what is happening in the world.”

Smakici has spoken out.

Tyson Fury’s sparring partner has revealed the insult that he was called before inflicting a ‘freak cut’ on the heavyweight champion prior to his fight with Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury vs Usyk, which was due to take place on February 17 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was postponed after the cut, which left ‘The Gypsy King’ unable to compete.

According to reports, Usyk’s team have been ‘exploring’ the possibility of the Ukrainian taking on IBF mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic on that date instead.

But his unification title bout against Fury will now take place on May 18 instead, giving the Brit over three months to recover from the cut above his right eye.

Footage later emerged which showed the alleged moment that Fury was cut, although his team has yet to confirm whether the footage represents the actual moment the incident occurred.

Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter exposes Tyson Fury on Instagram Live with old social media post
Credit: Instagram/@alex.krassyuk

Speaking to talkSPORT, Fury’s promoter Frank Warren explained: “It happened this [Friday] morning in sparring with a Croatian heavyweight who caught his eye with his elbow.”

Sky Sports reported that the Croatian heavyweight in question is Agron Smakici, a professional boxer with a record of 20-2.

That has now been confirmed by the man himself, who gave an interview with iFL TV to give further details on the incident.

Smakici stated that he was in Fury’s camp for two weeks, and did three to four rounds on ‘three to four’ separate occasions before the cut.

He also added that he used a combination of body strikes and wrestling techniques – and then stated the insult that he was called moments before striking ‘The Gypsy King’ in sparring.

Smakici described how he was called ‘a sausage’ by Fury – which we’ve certainly heard the Englishman use on many an occasion – but added that he left the camp on good terms with Fury’s team.

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He said: “Every camp you have a situation, where you have pain or you get caught, or something like that. But that’s normal. It’s boxing – not tennis or another sport.

“He was never complaining. He was doing all of the rounds, he was doing all the training we had to do, the conditional training, and everything.

“He was really good. Sometimes he would dance in the ring or sing – he was very good.”

Credits: IMAGO / Eibner and IMAGO / PanoramiC |
L: Toto Wplff R: Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes would want to forget the Australian GP double DNF result as soon as possible. The Silver Arrows were very bullish in the lead-up to this race but it all backfired for them. One of the main reasons was that the team tried experimenting with the setups of the W15 a bit too much. Toto Wolff admitted to the same as well. Meanwhile, even Lewis Hamilton was not a happy man after the race, citing that this has been the worst start to a season for him. However, Wolff feels that they need to keep experimenting to find the right direction with the brand-new 2024 car, but it is Hamilton who is bearing the brunt of this experimentation.

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Speaking to Fox Sports Australia, Wolff said, “We are coming to a point now where we probably need to experiment every single race, not only on Friday because our performance seems to get worse throughout the weekend.”

During FP2 on Friday, Wolff admitted that they had experimented with different setups on both cars. As per RaceFans, he mentioned, “[We’ve] gone through a really quite dramatic set-up change on Lewis’ [car] and that has massively backfired”.

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On the other hand, it went well with George Russell’s W15 but the 26-year-old too lacked some performance. Overall, Mercedes is probably trying too many things at a time to hone in on the car to discover the ideal setup. Therefore, they aren’t able to zero in on a particular direction and get the car in the right window, something both drivers have admitted.

Is Lewis Hamilton going to switch his focus to Ferrari sooner amid Mercedes struggles?

Mercedes seem to have missed the mark for the third consecutive season with the new ground-effect cars in 2024. Lewis Hamilton is naturally frustrated with the performance deficit. However, given this is his last season at the Silver Arrows, will he now switch his focus over to Ferrari?

The seven-time champion does not seem like an individual to resign from making efforts and take a back seat. And after being in the thick of things at Mercedes for over a decade, he most likely won’t want to pull the plug on his association earlier than he is supposed to.

Still, it most likely will depend upon how badly Mercedes slip up and how much they can recover in the 2024 season. Most likely, the Briton will want Ferrari to prosper and set themselves up well for next year.

But at the same time, he would want to end his stint with Mercedes on a high. Currently, it seems very unlikely. So Hamilton may look to think about his Ferrari future more and perhaps write off this season if Mercedes cannot improve much.