Report: Oleksandr Usyk Requests Tyson Fury Trim Beard Before Title Fight Rematch

Oleksandr Usyk is making a request of Tyson Fury ahead of their unified heavyweight championship bout on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

Per ESPN's Mike Coppinger, Usyk's team filed a formal request with the Middle East Professional Boxing Commission to mandate Fury trim his beard prior to their bout citing an official WBC rule for title fights.

Coppinger noted the rule states "a boxer may spouse a trimmed beard ... as long as, in the direction of the commission and the supervisor, the facial hair thickness does not: 1) cushion or in any way affect the impact or trajectory of punches; or 2) cut cuts or abrasions to his rival."

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told Coppinger via text there was "no issue from our side" after he inspected Fury's beard.

According to Coppinger, the commission will ask Fury to trim his beard.

Fury, however, appears resistant to the change.

"Tyson Fury has boxed with a beard on many occasions as do other fighters, most recently Beterbiev," his manager, Spencer Brown, told Coppinger. "Usyk himself has come out publicly and said Tyson having a beard is no problem. There is no law or ruling in boxing to say you can't fight with a beard. It's ridiculous that this has already been brought up in a rules meeting to no avail. Simply put if Usyk had a beard we would have no issue. This is not a fashion show, it's boxing."

There are different rules for beards in boxing depending on the sanctioning body. For instance, the IBA announced a rule change in January 2023 allowing for beards during all sanctioned competitions.

The controversy around beards stems from an assumption that they can help ease the impact of a punch to the face. There is no scientific data to prove that it has any significant affect, but boxers do make a point of ensuring their opponent can't have any type of advantage.

One of the most famous recent examples of a beard causing an issue leading up to a fight happened in 2017 between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. Golovkin's camp requested Alvarez trim his facial hair after he sported a bushy beard at the weigh-in.

Golovkin and Alvarez wound up fighting to a draw, leading to a rematch in September 2018 that Canelo won by majority decision.

Fury and Usyk are fighting for the second time this year. Usyk handed Fury the first loss of his professional career with a victory by split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.

The rematch will take place on Saturday from Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia. The main card begins at 12 p.m. ET.