Ukraine boxer Oleksandr Gvozdyk blasted the “embarrassing” excuse Tyson Fury made after losing the undisputed heavyweight championship fight to Oleksandr Usyk on May 18.
Usyk out-landed Fury in seven of the 12 rounds, and was more effective in his overall output, with 170 shots landed from 407 thrown for a 41.8% accuracy rate, according to Compubox data sent to World Boxing News at the time.
Though one judge scored the fight 114-113 for Fury last month at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there were two scores of 115-112 and 114-113 in Usyk’s favor, earning him the split decision win.
“His country is at war so people are siding for the country at war,” said Fury, citing Ukraine’s decade-long war with Russia, which escalated in 2022 when Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded more of the country.
“Make no mistake,” Fury finished, “I won that fight, and I’ll be back.”
World Boxing News asked Gvozdyk this week about Fury’s comments ahead of his own big fight on June 15 against David Benavidez at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“Come on,” he said, dismissing the Brit’s statement on the night, which implied people, fans, media, and judges sympathized with Ukraine’s plight and rewarded Usyk with a win that Fury, at least, did not think he deserved. “Shut up! That’s all I can say.”
Gvozdyk: “I think it’s embarrassing to say that. Especially after all the stuff that he was talking about, Usyk, I’m going to kill you, doing this, and that, and then eventually, he almost got stopped [in the ninth round].
“Basically, a lot of people think Usyk could have got a KO victory. But I definitely have no doubts about that decision.”
Gvozdyk has his own big fight ahead as he puts the final preparations on his light heavyweight clash with Benavidez — part of a Las Vegas double-header with Gervonta Davis vs Frank Martin in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view on Amazon Prime and PPV.com.
Like Usyk, Gvozdyk stressed how important it is to win when carrying the expectations of an entire country.
“We both understand it’s very important for Ukraine to cheer up our people, to give them more motivation to fight against Russian aggressor, against invaders,” Gvozdyk told us.
Alan Dawson is World Boxing News Lead Writer, a 2 x Sports Journalist of the Year finalist, and 5 x BWAA awards winner. Follow Alan @AlanDawsonSport.
