Oleksandr Usyk's former coach has raised doubts on whether Tyson Fury's eye will be recovered in time to fight on May 18.
Fury suffered a nasty cut above his eye during a sparring session with Agron Smakici just weeks before he was set to face Usyk in the first heavyweight undisputed fight this century.
It was confirmed that Fury suffered the cut from an unintentional elbow with the fight rescheduled for May 18.
But James Ali Bashir, who coached Usyk between 2013 and 2017, has taken aim at the Gypsy King for not being more careful in the build-up to the biggest fight of his career.
Tyson Fury is sporting a huge cut above his eye
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"Tyson has a reputation for being a rowdy guy," he told Seconds Out.
"He spars oft times without any head gear on and a fight of that magnitude you can't take those kinds of chances.
"I don't know whether he had head gear off or not but the place where the cut is it seems so unlikely.
"Disregard for his profession, disregard for the fans... more than likely it came from him being reckless."
Original reports after Fury suffered the cut suggested the fight might not be rescheduled until later this year or 2025 at worse.
Eyebrows were raised when Saudi chief Turki Alalshikh announced the new date for the fight would be May 18.
Ali Bashir feels that will be too soon and will ultimately cost Fury with his cut acting as an easy target for Usyk.
“From what I saw, it is going to take that cut six to seven months to heal," he added.
“It seems like it is one of those cuts that needs to be stitched on the inside and on the outside to get the best result of healing.
James Ali Bashir called out Tyson Fury for not being more careful
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“May, that’s cutting it short, that is hurrying it up.
“I can see that cut re-opening if they go in May.
“I would push the fight back to June or July to be sure.
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James Ali Bashir previously worked as Oleksandr Usyk's coach
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"I personally as a boxing trainer would push it back.
"The longer that he takes time for it to heal, the better the cut is going to be but I don't know about May."
