Tyson Fury arrives for Oleksandr Usyk fight with ‘gross violation’ as he refuses to cave to champion’s demand
TYSON FURY has arrived for tonight's blockbuster rematch with Oleksandr Usyk with his beard IN TACT.
Team Usyk fumed at the length of the Gypsy King's beard ahead of their Saudi showdown, claiming it “grossly violating” strict rules on the length of facial hair.
But The Gypsy King has IGNORED the Ukranian's demands to get his razor out, arriving for the Riyadh rumble with his beard in full force.
Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk wasn't shy in voicing his belief that Fury's facial hair is in violation of WBC rules.
He said: “The beard rule is being grossly violated.
“The WBC rules clearly say, ‘A boxer may espouse a trimmed beard as long as the hair thickness does not cushion or affect the impact or trajectory of punches, or cause cuts or abrasions to his rival’."
"So, Tyson’s beard has to be trimmed. We will push it further.”
Fury and his team, however, have seemingly refused to back down in beardgate, which has become an unlikely talking point ahead of tonight's eagerly-anticipated rematch.
Queensberry Promotions chief Frank Warren said: “He has a beard and there have been a lot of fighters over the years who have fought with beards, and that’s it.”
And his manager Spencer Brown told ESPN: "Tyson Fury has boxed with a beard on many occasions as do other fighters.
"Most recently [Artur] Beterbiev.
"Usyk himself has come out publicly and said Tyson having a beard is no problem.
"There is no law or ruling in boxing to say you can't fight with a beard.
"It’s ridiculous that this has already been brought up in a rules meeting to no avail.
"Simply put if Usyk had a beard we would have no issue. This is not a fashion show, it’s boxing."
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