Tyson Fury baselessly accused one of the greatest rivals to his boxing crown of taking steroids

• Tyson Fury belittled Anthony Joshua, and accused Oleksandr Usyk of taking steroids in a new rant.
• The claim about Usyk is baseless, and Fury did not provide evidence for the accusation.

Tyson Fury baselessly accused one of the greatest rivals to his heavyweight boxing crown of taking steroids during a motor-mouth tirade Tuesday.

The WBC heavyweight champion made the claim against Ukrainian fighter Oleksandr Usyk, without evidence, in a video posted on his Instagram story, according to Boxing Scene.

Fury said he couldn't fathom how his other great rival, Anthony Joshua, lost to Usyk in a technical classic held September in London.

The result saw the WBA, WBO, and IBF boxing titles change hands, with Usyk becoming the division's new unified champion.

Downplaying Joshua's abilities, and how Usyk developed his skillset, Fury said: "You know what I can't believe? That 'AJ' has gone and given Ukraine all the heavyweight belts, you big useless dosser."

One of the best fighters in pro boxing, Usyk left the cruiserweight division as its undisputed champ before entering heavyweight to shake up the weight class and defeat Joshua in a scintillating fashion.

Reacting to this, Fury said: "You've let a little steroid man come up from middleweight and sit above you and take all your belts."

He then said he'd have to defeat Usyk himself and bring those belts "back to Britain."

Fury tested positive for a banned substance in 2015

Usyk has never tested positive for a banned substance while competing as a professional fighter.

Fury, by contrast, tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone in 2015. He was banned for two years retrospectively in December 2017.

At the time the positive test was revealed, Fury denied knowingly taking the drug, and later claimed it got into his system because he ate uncastrated wild boar, iNews reports.

Consumption of certain types of pork has long been linked with positive tests for nandrolone. In 2021, for instance, US runner Shelby Houlihan blamed eating a pork offal burrito on a positive test for the substance which saw her miss the Olympics.

In 2020, a study published by researchers at the German Sport University Cologne and the University of Munich, showed that eating the "offal of noncastrated pigs" can cause nandrolone to appear in human urine samples. A 2000 study from France's Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire showed similar results.

Fury v. Usyk would be one of boxing's biggest bouts

A fight between Fury and Usyk would be one of the best boxing can offer, and would determine an undisputed heavyweight champion.

It is a bout that would not happen until the end of 2022 at the earliest. Usyk is contractually obligated to fight Joshua once again in a rematch, while Fury has been linked with a WBC title defense against fellow Brit Dillian Whyte.

Usyk has not responded to Fury's baseless steroid claim.