Oleksandr Usyk’s manager calls Tyson Fury ‘&%#@! coward’

Oleksandr Usyk’s angry manager is convinced that Tyson Fury sought a way out of their Feb. 17 fight in Saudi Arabia.

The long-awaited battle for the undisputed heavyweight championship was postponed indefinitely Friday after Fury suffered a deep cut over his right eye during sparring.

Egis Klimas, Usyk’s longtime advisor, and the fighter weren’t surprised, Klimas said.

“Tyson Fury is a f—— coward who will do anything not to face Usyk,” he told RingTV.com. “… He asked his bitch to hit him with a frying pan in his brow. You can quote me word for word for that.

“When the news was brought to Oleksandr, he just smiled. That is all he did. He is too mentally strong to break. I was waiting for this moment.”

A photo of Fury with the cut was included on a statement posted on social media.

Fury, who reportedly needed 15 stitches to close the gash, said in the statement that he is as disappointed as anyone.

“I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such a superb condition,” he said. “I feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed.

“I can only apologize to everyone affected including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The new fight date hinges on Fury’s recovery.

Cuts can heal in a month to six weeks but he presumably won’t be ready to fight for at least a few months, meaning the bout couldn’t take place until April or later.

“Once the doctors have appraised Tyson’s eye, we will have a better idea of the period of recovery needed,” a Queensberry Promotions spokesperson said in the statement. “Once known we will work diligently with all the stakeholders and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reschedule this fight as soon as possible and will of course keep everyone updated with developments.”

Usyk and Co. haven’t indicated what they plan to do but an enormous purse for the fight with Fury — reportedly around $45 million for the Ukrainian — is a powerful incentive to wait until his British counterpart is fully recovered.

Filip Hrgovic, the mandatory challenger for Usyk’s IBF title, was briefly considered as a late replacement on Feb. 17 but the entire card was canceled.

The Fury-Usyk fight was originally scheduled for Dec. 23 but that date was pushed back after Fury narrowly avoided an upset against MMA star Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28, surviving a knockdown to win a split decision.

Fury might’ve taken victory for granted against Ngannou, who was making his boxing debut. However, that evidently wasn’t the case going into the fight with Usyk. He appeared to be in excellent shape before he suffered the cut.