The boxer who cut Tyson Fury's eye open and forced this month's heavyweight unification fight to be postponed has denied using an elbow, insisting it was a "clean punch".
Fury and Oleksandr Usyk were both bringing their training camps to an end when the Gypsy King suffered the cut.
It forced the originaly fight between Usyk and Fury - scheduled for February 17 - to be postponed.
A new date of May 18 has now been agreed with both fighters facing an £8million fine if they pull out.
Agron Smakici denied it was an elbow that caused the cut
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Fury was sparring with Croatian heavyweight Agron Smakici when the incident happened.
The 35-year-old claimed it was an "elbow in the eye" that ended up causing the cut with Frank Warren also stating it was an illegal blow that required his fighter to have 15 stitches.
But Smakici has denied claims from Fury and Warren that he threw an elbow in sparring to cause the cut.
He told Boxing Talk: "It was a clean punch so I don't feel bad.
"Fury says a lot of things but he knows how the sparring was with me."
Unconfirmed footage of the moment Fury suffered the infliction appeared to show an accidental elbow hitting the English boxer in the ace.
Smakici was a recent addition to Fury's training camp having previously worked with Anthony Joshua.
The 33-year-old helped the two-time heavyweight champion prepare for his last fight against Otto Wallin in December.
Agron Smakici previously sparred with Anthony Joshua
Smakici was also one of Joshua's sparring partners ahead of his rematch against Usyk in 2022.
A new date of May 18 for Fury vs Usyk was confirmed by both fighters during an appearance on The MMA Hour.
Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh was sat alongside Fury in the interview, with Usyk on a different stream with his manager Egis Kilmas.
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Tyson Fury suffered the cut in sparring
Alalshikh claims that he had to talk Fury down from wanting to continue with the original plan to fight on February 17 despite suffering the cut above his eye.
He said: "Tyson doesn't want me to tell this secret.
"He wanted to fight on the 17th with the cut but I didn't let him, it would be a circus, not a fight.
"We have a deadline with IBF and I don't want a headache with them."
