Oleksandr Usyk's promoter, Alexander Krassyuk, has revealed they have 'taken steps' to ensure there's no potential favouritism towards Tyson Fury in next month's boxing fight.
The duo will face off in Riyadh on May 18 in the first heavyweight showdown since the days of Lennox Lewis.
Last week, while speaking in Morecambe, Fury was keen to praise Saudi Arabian chief Turki Alalshikh.
The 42-year-old has repeatedly hailed Fury and that has led to some concerns the Briton could receive preferential treatment.
Boxing: Alexander Krassyuk has opened up on potential Tyson Fury favouritism ahead of the Gypsy King's fight with Oleksandr Usyk
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Krassyuk insists that's unlikely to happen - but the Ukrainian did admit they had 'taken steps' to minimise the risk by going for 'mutual' judges.
“His Excellency mentioned that British fighters were the best in the world, but he omitted the fact that the future Undisputed Heavyweight Champion had a Ukrainian passport," he told World Boxing News.
“Mr. Alalshikh is a great, honorable man and a big fan of boxing.
"It is his right to choose his favorite in the biggest fight of the century.
"We respect him a lot and trust that this boxing match will be contested at the highest level of integrity and sportsmanship.
Krassyuk insists that's unlikely to happen - but the Ukrainian did admit they had 'taken steps' to minimise the risk by going for 'mutual' judges.
“His Excellency mentioned that British fighters were the best in the world, but he omitted the fact that the future Undisputed Heavyweight Champion had a Ukrainian passport," he told World Boxing News.
“Mr. Alalshikh is a great, honorable man and a big fan of boxing.
"It is his right to choose his favorite in the biggest fight of the century.
"We respect him a lot and trust that this boxing match will be contested at the highest level of integrity and sportsmanship.
"We want Usyk’s victory not to be tarnished by Tyson’s lack of preparation.
“For this reason, Oleksandr agreed to give him time to recover after his poor performance with Nganou and after his cut before February 17.”
Meanwhile, Usyk has received advice from Wladimir Klitschko as his showdown with Fury approaches.
But the Briton recently criticised Klitschko, insisting he could only give advice on how to lose - having beaten the Ukrainian in November 2015.
“That would be very good advice, wouldn’t it? How to lose to the Gypsy King?" he remarked.
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“How can Wlad, my old mate, give anyone advice?
"He would have used it himself, wouldn’t he, if he had any idea how to beat me?
“It was a one-sided boxing lesson that I gave to old Wlad and he was a very good champion, just like this guy [Usyk].
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“I said back then that if I can’t beat Wlad I must be useless.
"Again, I will say it again, ‘If I can’t beat Usyk, then I must be no good’. That’s your headline. ‘If Tyson Fury can’t beat Usyk, he is no good.’
"End of [story] because there is no point in pulling any punches about it.”
