AGRON SMAKICI has accused Tyson Fury’s team of trying to silence him in the aftermath of the infamous spar which delayed The Gypsy King’s first showdown with Oleksandr Usyk.
Smakici was one of Fury’s chief sparring partners for former pound-for-pound king ahead of their first scheduled meeting in February 2024.
Tyson Fury’s first showdown with Oleksandr Usyk was delayed after he suffered a horror cutCredit: QUEENSBERRY PROMOTIONS
The cut occurred during a hard spar with Croatian giant Agron SmakiciCredit: QUEENSBERRY PROMOTIONS
Smakici has claimed Team Fury promised him he’d have a ‘big fight’ if he kept quiet about sparringCredit: GETTY
The fight ended up being postponed after , who was fired up after the then-WBC heavyweight champion .
And Smakici has claimed Team immediately urged him to keep schtum on the spar once news of the Wythenshawe warrior’s injury spread.
In an exclusive interview with SunSport, he said: “They told me, ‘Don’t say nothing about sparring, [about] what happened.
“‘We’re gonna give you a big fight.’ So that’s why I spoke nicely about him [and said] that nothing bad happened.
“But very bad things [happened] before sparring and in sparring.”
According to Smakici, Team Fury said he’d be rewarded with a big fight if he refrained from bad-mouthing Fury or divulging details of their hard rounds together.
He said: “I was moving good and the team told me, ‘Please just stay with us.’
“It was gonna be perfect before the incident, because he really liked the sparring I did with Tyson.
Agron Smakici felt incredibly disrespected by Tyson FuryCredit: GETTY
Smakici is a former sparring partners of Anthony Joshua’sCredit: INSTAGRAM@AGRON_SMAKICI
“And after that, was the stupid promises – lying promises.”
Smakici, who also competes in , felt disrespected by Fury on several occasions during camp, which he suggests lacked structure.
Recalling the day of the cut, he said: “The day before, we did strength training. The day after, it was not planned to do sparring.
“I had a breakfast at 12 o’clock, and they said, ‘Let’s come to the gym. We’re going to do sparring now.’
“Even when it was not meant to be sparring that day.”
Smakici, who is looking to get back in the ring as soon as possible following his defeat to undefeated Russian prospect Artem Suslenko last October, has sparred all the big names in this current crop of heavyweights.
They told me don’t say nothing about sparring, [about] what happened. ‘We’re gonna give you a big fight.'”
Agron Smakici
But none, in his opinion, have disrespected him quite like Fury.
“You’re a world champion, you’ve got millions,” he said. “I’m just a normal guy who’s trying to feed my family and do something for my name.
“So you can respect me if I respect you. It’s so simple.
“I did sparring with , [Deontay] Wilder, Derek [Chisora], so, so many names.
“I never had such a bad treatment, very bad treatment.”
Former two-time heavyweight champion when he takes on bear-wrestling Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov.
SunSport has reached out to Team Fury for comment.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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