Not for the first time, Turki Alalshikh opened up about his health issues in recent days as the fallout continued to that Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk postponement.
The two heavyweight behemoths had been due to meet in Riyadh on February 17 to crown the sport’s first undisputed champion in the sport’s marquee weight class since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
But on Friday morning Fury (34-0-1) sustained a ‘freak cut’ in sparring with 33-year-old Croatian Agron Smakici, a wound which required 11 stitches. That February 17 date was OFF.
Just 24 hours later Turki Alalshikh, Fury and Usyk appeared in a hastily-convened edition of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour to discuss the postponement, and to announce a new date – May 18.
Turki Alalshikh on health issues
During the show, Alalshikh – the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority – again referenced his health issues as he talked about the heavyweight superfight.
He revealed: “I have something important [to say]. This fight I wanted to happen. I delayed my health issues in New York in hospitals until the beginning of March, for this fight. I need to go to the hospitals – it is my health. If I think is Tyson is scared of this fight, I would not waste my time.
“The cut happened, the cut happened between [George] Foreman and Muhammad Ali [before ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’ in 1974].”
Last month Alalshikh had also referenced those health issues during a sit-down interview talking about his love for boxing. And how those health issues drive his desire to achieve things quickly in the sport.
