Oleksandr Usyk has revealed he stopped his team, which includes Ukrainian soldiers, from getting revenge on John Fury following the 59-year-old's headbutt earlier this week.
Fury headbutted Stanislav Stepchuk, a member of Usyk's entourage, with the father of Tyson Fruy since apologising for his actions.
Blood was seen pouring down Fury's face in the immediate aftermath, with the former professional boxer seemingly relishing the chaotic scenes.
And Usyk has revealed he stopped his team from responding with more violence, despite many of them wanting 'to go'.
Oleksandr Usyk has revealed he stopped his team from getting revenge on John Fury after the 59-year-old headbutted a member of his camp
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"I pulled my team back to stop the fighting," he said, per the Daily Mail. "They wanted to go.
"They were looking over to me waiting for the signal. Waiting for the thumbs up but I gave them the thumbs down."
Usyk also said his team weren't happy with his decision to opt against revenge, with the 37-year-old saying he was eager to keep things professional.
"I don’t just have professional coaches and trainers with me," he added. "Also professional soldiers.
"They are very good at wanting to fight. Not boxing. Street fighting. Shooting. Knives.
"It is a secret who the soldiers are in my team. They were not happy when I raised my hand and waved them back saying please, no. We are professionals."
He continued: "This is a big event for our people. For the UK, For Ukraine. For Saudi Arabia.
"And this was bad behaviour from Tyson’s team. It was stupid.
"I don’t want to call John bad because I don’t know him or his mind.
"But we had to behave properly."
Fury offered an apology in the aftermath of his headbutt, though the 59-year-old did brand Stepchuk a 'disrespectful fella' while explaining why he acted out.
"Sincere apologies to everybody involved. It's just the way we are. Emotions and tensions are running high. He was a very disrespectful fella," he said.
"If you come close in a fighting man's space, you're gonna cop for something.
"What matters to me is respect for my son and he wasn't showing any of it.
"He mentioned my son and that was it, so he had to have it.
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John Fury was left covered in blood after headbutting a member of Oleksandr Usyk's team
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"It doesn't bother me [bleeding], it's what we live for, we're fighting people. That's a regular occurrence to me."
Stepchuk barely flinched when Fury headbutted him, with the young man also refusing to fight back.
Speaking to Seconds Out, he says he didn't want to respond due to the age gap between himself and Fury.
“I was just supporting our team," he said.
“We were only shouting, 'Usyk, Usyk,' I didn't touch him. He went crazy… Yeah [I wanted to punch him], but because of the age difference it would not be very fair."
Oleksandr Usyk wanted to keep things 'professional' despite John Fury headbutting a member of his entourage
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He then proceeded to warn Fury that he was at risk of a heart attack.
“He should not look for an actual fight because he could have a heart attack and finish in the ambulance," he added.
