IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER

Two fighters - Tyson Fury (Great Britain) and Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine).

Three fathers - one eternal, one deceased and one very much alive.

The live one, John Fury, might wish he was entombed after this weekend if his son, Tyson, fails to become the unified heavyweight boxing champion of the world. So invested is John in his eldest son securing the legacy of this rare historic title and so passionately has he lived out his own frustrated dreams through Tyson, that the thought of it not being so might finally finish him off. Of course I'm joking but one does wonder how 'Big John' might cope with a defeat on his son's record and the relinquishing of the WBC belt, to say nothing of the possibility of losing a chance at making serious sporting history. Emotions spilled over, quite literally in blood on Monday, when John Fury disgraced himself by head butting a younger member of Usyk's team and splitting his own forehead in the process. If this was John Fury's attempt at doing an unorthodox sign of the cross to curse the big occasion then he was clearly left the more crucified as he stalked and hollered around the reception area, dabbing away at his self-inflicted injury like a proud bully.

The dead one, Oleksandr Usyk's late father, died just a few days after seeing his son secure Olympic Gold for Ukraine in 2012 on television. His absence will provide, perhaps, Usyk's greatest motivation for defeating his opponent Tyson Fury on Saturday night in Saudi in his bid to unify all four Championship belts: the WBO, WBA, IBF and WBC. Usyk has spoken movingly about his love for his father and the fact he tragically wasted several days getting back to him to show him his gold medal while he lay dying. When he finally re-united with his father he had passed away and Uysk placed his Olympic gold medal around his dead hand.

As for the eternal father, well, Tyson and Oleksandr (as Christian men) share the same 'Sovereign of all Creation' who they both credit their previous victories to, above their own mortal fathers. Fury's new-born faith derives from his Uncle Ernest's Pentecostal influence whereas Usyk's was inspired by a spiritual encounter with a Chaplain when he was ill in hospital as a child. Who's to say who the most credible man of faith is between them?

One thing is for certain, however, when the two men meet in the ring on Saturday night in the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, one man will have his father in his corner, the other will have his locked in his heart and both men will have their shared Heavenly Father watching the two of them slug it out from high above.

So, may the best man win.

Inshallah.