"He's got a bit of timber on him" - When Shawn Porter and Carl Froch predicted Tyson Fury would pull out of February clash against Oleksandr Usyk

Tyson Fury's undisputed heavyweight title bout against Oleksandr Usyk has been postponed owing to an injury the Englishman picked up while sparring. Regardless of what necessitated the postponement, a pair of pugilists were counting on Fury to pull out of the historic clash.

In January, former WBC welterweight champion Shawn Porter had speculated that 'The Gypsy King' might drop out of the fight. In an interview with ProBox TV, he opined:

"I think that a fighter will get to a point where they see the hardest night ahead of them, and they're like, 'Man, I just had so many of those hard nights, I am not going to have that hard night.' He is looking for things that are going to give him the money and the recognition and the nights that he is not going to have to train hard for anymore."

Catch Shawn Porter's comments below (11:53):

Similarly, Carl Froch also doubted the probability of Fury making the walk against the Ukrainian. During a previous segment on his YouTube channel, the former super middleweight champion shared his concerns, saying:

"He's got a big family, his wife and seven children. So, he's going to want to relax and have a good time. Is he going to want to be training over Christmas and New Year, which he's going to have to do if he's going to be ready for the February event? I'm not so sure, I've got a feeling that fight might get pushed back until March. You heard it here first."

Catch Carl Froch's comments below (8:58):

With the undisputed clash now scrapped, there are rumors of Filip Hrgovic potentially stepping up as a late replacement against Usyk on Feb. 17.

---

Eddie Hearn dispels rumors that Tyson Fury deliberately cut himself

In the aftermath of the postponement, many, including Oleksandr Usyk's manager Egis Klimas, have speculated that Tyson Fury intentionally injured himself to pull out of the matchup. However, Eddie Hearn, for one, doesn't subscribe to such rumors.

Speaking to SecondsOut about the unfortunate cancellation, the boxing promoter defended 'The Gypsy King' from unsubstantiated narratives, saying:

"I have no reason to defend Tyson Fury, but I'll defend him... What you are ultimately implying is that Tyson Fury has asked someone to cut him open with a knife on his eye to avoid a fight, which is absolutely ridiculous."

Catch Eddie Hearn's comments below (1:55):