Former MMA fighter Agron Smakici has revealed how Tyson Fury suffered a horrific gash after a saucy prank backfired.
The WBC champion, 35, was sparring with Smakici, 33, in Saudi Arabia when he playfully thrust his crotch at the Croatian’s backside.
It sparked a fiery exchange with Smakici landing a left hook before a glancing elbow resulted in the Gypsy King requiring 14 stitches.
Smakici told The Sun: ‘He did it but it was a joke and I didn’t take it seriously,
WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT
Tyson Fury suffered a horrific cut to his forehead during a sparring session in Saudi Arabia
Former MMA fighter Agron Smakici has revealed how Fury suffered a gash during sparring
The injury means his fight with Oleksandr Usyk had to be rescheduled to May 18
‘I was not angry, because he was laughing, he is funny. He is a comedian.
‘Yes it made me a little more serious, it made me want to show him what I had.’
Fury shared an image of a blood stained head guard and pair of boxing gloves on his Instagram, after he suffered a horrific gash that has derailed plans for him and Oleksandr Usyk to meet in the ring on February 17.
The much anticipated showdown to unify the heavyweight belts was postponed after Fury sustained the cut during a sparring session against Agron Smakici.
The injury, which was described as a ‘freak cut’ by members of his team, required multiple stitches, with the Gypsy King’s former cutman, Jorge Capetillo, stating that it could take ’90 days’ before Fury is able to return.
Footage had emerged online apparently showing when the incident occured, with Smakici appearing to land a glancing elbow on the heavyweight champion’s head which could have caused the laceration.
The 35-year-old posted a picture of a blood stained head guard and a pair of gloves on his Instagram.
Blood stains appeared to be visible down the right-hand side of the head guard and on the back of the gloves.
The eagerly anticipated clash has now been rescheduled for May 18, but the cut has sparked much controversy among the boxing community.
Tyson Fury has posted a picture of a pair of blood stained boxing gloves and head guard on Instagram
Earlier this wek, former World Champion Timothy Bradley offered his assesment on the incident, claiming Fury had orchestrated the injury.
‘I smell something. I smell bulls***, that’s what I smell,’ Bradley, a former welterweight and light welterweight champion told the Deep Waters podcast.
‘When you look at it in slow motion, did that elbow, which looked deliberate, land on the eye of Tyson Fury? No. the punch landed on the chin of Tyson Fury.
‘If you look up the guy, he says that he landed a punch. That’s what he said, ‘I landed a punch on the guy. He claimed it was a punch that landed against Tyson Fury but they put out this little video and that elbow that was thrown, that was deliberate, and it landed on the chin.
‘I don’t know, I smell something fishy man. I see the cut. I get it.’
Fury has also been embroiled in a furious spat with Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas who had accused the 35-year-old of being a coward and suggested that he had intentionally sustained the injury to avoid fighting Usyk.
‘Tyson Fury is a f****** coward who will do anything not to face Usyk, and he asked his b**** to hit him with a frying pan in his brow,’ Klimas said.
‘You can quote me word for word for that. When the news was brought to Oleksandr, he just smiled. That is all he did. He is too mentally strong to break.’
Fury was seen in a video online sparring with Agron Smakici where the incident reportedly occurred
The bout, originally set for February 17, was postponed after Fury sustained a cut in sparring
But the Gypsy King responded: ‘Egis, never call me a coward again. I’ve had 35 professional fights, I’ve been boxing 18 years of my life.
‘I’ve climbed off the canvas 10 times off the biggest punches in history to win. Never a coward, never backed down from any man in my life.
‘And if any man calls my wife a b**** I’ll take his f***ing teeth out.’
He added: ‘You call me a coward. Never boxed in your life. How am I a coward? I’ve had 35 professional fights I’m a two time undefeated heavyweight champion. I’m the second longest reigning lineal champion in history. How am I coward?’