Tyson Fury suffered the cut heard around the world.
Fury was supposed to fight Oleksandr Usyk for all four heavyweight world titles on February 17, and the bout would have crowned an undisputed champion.
The footage was released of Fury being cut in a sparring session that led to the postponement of the bout.
Mike Bazzel was one of two cut men entrusted by Top Rank to corner fighters during the pandemic. His fellow cut man was Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran and Bazzel is known for being an expert in his field, and one of the most well-respected cut men of his era.
“It looked deep,” Bazzel told ProBox TV, discussing Fury’s cut. “At 35-years-old, it would be hard to make it to a fight with a pretty deep cut. Keep in mind, he was cut three-to-four years ago as well.”
Fury was cut in his third fight with Deontay Wilder and famously was cut badly in his 2019 fight with Otto Wallin.
That cut nearly stopped the Wallin fight, but Bazzel didn’t know if this was the same problematic bit of scar tissue.
“Look he was getting ready to fight Oleksandr Usyk, who is shorter than him, but a very accurate puncher,” Bazzel added. “He has sting in his punches. You have to postpone the fight.”
Bazzel also noted that sparring has a natural danger that comes with it. Bazzel explained: “Sparring is a risk. That is why we wear headgear. It protects the forehead, it protects the hand. It helps minimize the risk. It is why people use the bar or the mask, because they want to stay sharp, but limit the risk.
“At least Fury was wearing headgear, he is notorious for sparring without headgear.”
As for what Bazzel would have done if this happened in a fight he was working, the legendary cut man replied: “It is the old ‘Stitch’ Duran line, give the fighter one more round.”
Then, he said what he would have done had he been there.
“First how did the cut happen? Was it an elbow or was it a clean punch?” he asked. “An elbow could mean swelling. You want to apply the adrenaline quickly and that extra vaseline to seal it. It will hold up for two minutes of the round, but really the fighter has to help. It is a big target.”
