"I’m telling you it was a punch” - Tyson Fury’s sparring partner dismisses narrative that he elbowed ‘The Gypsy King’ in sparring 

Tyson Fury's massively anticipated clash with Oleksandr Usyk was forced to be postponed, with the pair initially scheduled to clash on Feb. 17.

'The Gypsy King, ' who was in Saudi Arabia training for the clash, suffered a nasty cut above his right eye while sparring several days ago. Footage of the exact moment he was cut by a training partner was uploaded online, and the camera angle indicated that Fury may have been hit with a slicing elbow.

MMA fans will know all too well how devastating cuts caused by elbow strikes can be. But according to the man who cut Fury, he did not throw an elbow but a genuine punch.

Agron Smakici, who has been a training partner for both 'The Gypsy King' and Anthony Joshua, was recently interviewed by iFL TV. He shared insight into the sparring session that caused the cut and said the following:

"It wasn't on purpose... That's nonsense [that I didn't feel bad about the cut]. That's not okay. Because, I'm telling you it was a punch. I threw a punch. I know. I felt the punch. But how he was pulling my head forward, maybe it went to the elbow. I didn't do it on purpose."

Watch Tyson Fury's sparring partner discuss the cut below from 0:30:

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Tyson Fury sends stern message to Oleksandr Usyk's promoter for mentioning retirement

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk were preparing to face off for their chance to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.

But disaster struck several days ago as the WBC champion suffered a deep cut above his eye, possibly a re-opening of the wound Fury suffered against Otto Wallin in 2019.

Usyk's promoter, Alexander Krassyuk, shared a cheeky comment on Fury's post following his announcement that the fight would have to be moved. Krassyuk suggested that the wound was a sign from a higher power that 'The Gypsy King' should consider retiring from the sport.

The WBC champion has now fired back at his opponent's promoter, saying this:

"Nice little elbow right in the eye, nearly cost me the biggest fight of my career. But what can you do? Sh*t happens, and we move on. We keep moving forward, and now we have a new date. Usyk's crying his eyes out. Tyson should retire! Oh, he wants to retire. Oh, no retirement here motherf***er. You're getting knocked out."

Watch Tyson Fury's video below: