Some of us might prefer to simply ignore the foolish actions of John Fury, or at least try to. The father of Tyson Fury again caused a ruckus ahead of a big fight, this week slinging a nasty headbutt at a young-looking, somewhat diminutive member of Team-Usyk. Why? Because the Usyk team members had the audacity to chant “Usyk, Usyk, Usyk” in big bad John’s presence.
This was enough to anger Fury, who said his son was being “disrespected.” But the butt served to injure the assailant, not the intended victim, with 59 year old Fury suffering a bloodied forehead, the blood pouring down his face. Regardless, Fury had crossed the line, he had committed GBH. Had the butted man opted to press charges it would have likely been bad news for the elder Fury, a man who served a long prison sentence for gouging a man’s eye out in a street fight.
Fury did apologise for his actions, but he soon fell back into his usual self, threatening to butt Tony Bellew should he see him in Saudi. Plenty of people were suitably disgusted by Fury’s latest actions, with the likes of Carl Froch and others letting their strong feelings be known. You cannot go around headbutting people, and that’s the bottom line.
One man who would love to “put some manners” on Fury Sr is former fighter Joe Egan, the man Mike Tyson famously called “the toughest white man on the planet.” Egan has called out Fury previously, and the former pro/famed sparring partner has called him out again after seeing what we all saw in Riyadh this week.
“I believe you’ve all seen the conduct of this lowlife, bully buy, thug John Fury today,” Ireland’s Egan wrote on social media. “I want to take this chance to apologise on behalf of the boxing world to the Saudi Royal Family, the people of Saudi Arabia who have welcomed the Fury family into their wonderful country. Also to the people of Ukraine for the conduct of this scumbag. I would take great pleasure in smashing this man to bits, if he ever has the courage to step into the ring with me. The world wants to see manners put on this man, and I am the man to do it.”
But will Fury – a self-proclaimed “fighting man,” one who “lives for the blood and the guts” – accept Egan’s fight offer this time? For a man who says he loves to fight, 59 year old Fury sure has turned down a few fights that have been put to him, including one with Froch; not that we would wish to see a much younger, far fitter, faster and more agile former world champion, a Hall of Famer put some hurt on a man who is close to his old age pension.
But Egan is the same age as Fury, so let’s see if Fury wants to take on a man who is ready and more than willing to fight him, this in a ring, with rules and regulations in place. No ifs or butts!
