Tyson Fury learns whether he can keep beard after bizarre Oleksandr Usyk team request

Tyson Fury will be able to keep his big bushy beard for his upcoming rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.

The Mancunian has refused to shave or trim his facial hair for the entirety of his gruelling camp in Malta, prompting team Usyk to lodge a request to the Middle East Boxing Commission – who are sanctioning Saturday’s main event – for Fury to clipper it off.

But his promoter Frank Warren claims his fighter will enter the ring this weekend with all of his bristles after being given the all-clear.

He told Sky Sports: “He has a beard and there’s been a lot of fighters over the years who’ve fought with beards, and that’s it.”

The International Boxing Association – the governing body that runs the World Amateur Boxing Championship – don’t allow boxers to compete with beards that are longer than 10cms or that cover the neck.

However, there are no rules about beards for pros.

It is likely this is nothing more than mind games from Usyk’s camp in the lead-up to fight night.

That’s not to say, of course, that Fury’s team didn’t make requests of their own.

During the rules meeting on Friday, Fury’s advisors were very keen to establish where the belt line is for the fight to avoid a repeat of the low-blow controversy that marred Usyk’s fight with Daniel Dubois last year.

“It’s what is considered to be a low blow or not,” said Warren.

“Anything below the navel is a low blow and a lot of fighters wear their shorts higher and that sometimes leads to what you could say confusion as happened with Usyk and Daniel Dubois.

“There was a problem in that fight and we don’t want that happening and nor does the other side, so the judge has made it very clear – which the judge in that previous fight did not make clear, he didn’t come and give any instructions on it in the boxers’ dressing rooms – to ensure that everybody understands this clarification and we know what a low blow is.”

By far the biggest story coming out of the rules meeting is the ongoing dispute over who will judge tomorrow night’s bout.

Puerto Rico’s Gerardo Martinez, Chicago’s Patrick Morley and Miami’s Fernando Barbosa were originally set to score the historic fight.

However, Barbosa has been taken ill and hasn’t flown to Riyadh.

According to esteemed boxing journalist Keith Idec, Steve Weisfeld of New Jersey was slated to step in as a short-notice replacement.

However, another unnamed judge is also flying over to Saudi Arabia and is up for consideration for the vacant role.

Both sides are locked into a dispute over the replacement official, with Fury and Usyk’s teams favouring different judges, while Fury’s promoter Warren has suggested flipping a coin to settle the issue.

“There are two standby judges, both of them are flying in and we have got to decide which one of them it is going to be,” he added.

“There are two standby judges, both of them are flying in and we have got to decide which one of them it is going to be.”

talkSPORT will bring you live commentary of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday, December 21 with our coverage kicking off from 7.30pm