Tyson Fury has hit back at Oleksandr Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk after the Ukrainian called for him to be stripped of his world heavyweight title for facing Francis Ngannou.
Fury, the reigning WBC heavyweight champion, possesses the one belt that Usyk currently lacks. Earlier this year, discussions were underway for an undisputed showdown between the two, but an agreement couldn't be reached. As a result, Usyk was compelled to defend against his WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois.
In an Instagram story, Fury offered a cheeky response to the critics, saying, "Hey guys, little bit of clarification. I hear there's a lot of unknown, irrelevant people talking about how I should be stripped of my belt. Ha ha ha! Don't hate the player, hate the game. I don't have a mandatory."
READ MORE: Tyson Fury responds to Anthony Joshua ahead of 'game-changer' next fight
He continued, "When I do have a mandatory, it will be dealt with just like every other mandatory I've ever had. Until then, keep on hating mother******s! And enjoy the little, little, little tiny bit of money you guys are making. All the big Gs in the house!"
Krassyuk, however, dismissed Fury's upcoming fight with Ngannou as nothing more than a "performance" that won't even impact Fury's undefeated record. He urged that the belt should be taken away from the Brit and insisted that, given the considerable time since Fury's last mandatory defence, he should be compelled to engage in an undisputed fight against Usyk.
In an explosive interview with Seconds Out, as reported by The Mirror, Krassyuk stated, "You call it a fight? No, it's a performance. It's an exhibition, it's not a fight. The fight is when you have the heavyweight undisputed [title] at stake, this is the fight. When you are fighting Ngannou, you are earning money, entertaining fans, and the public, that's all you're doing."
He added, "I don't think it should be relinquished, no. He can be stripped for only one reason if he does not comply with the WBC rules. According to my understanding, he does. At least he did, he fought [Dillian] Whyte for the mandatory, and now they have to appoint a new mandatory because a new mandatory is not appointed."
Krassyuk concluded, "So, he is not actually breaking any rule of the WBC, but from a sports point of view he has to be stripped because he stays inactive for so long and he's cheating people by announcing fights that don't take place."
