OLEKSANDR USYK forgives Tyson Fury’s bad behaviour and lack of respect because all his other Brit opponents have shown good grace.
The Gypsy King was all kisses and cuddles after losing their first Undisputed heavyweight decider last May.
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But when he lost another points decision in December, he was a bad sport afterwards.
After 24 thrilling rounds, the aftermath would have been the perfect time for Fury to credit the man he dismissed as a “blown up middleweight” as the finest big man of his generation.
Unlike previously bested Englishmen Tony Bellew, Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua, Fury failed to credit Usyk’s incredible skill, courage and boxing CV in the post-fight press conference, instead blaming a robbery on poor scoring.
But Ukraine’s 38-year-old ice man has forgiven the sulking hot head who he beat into a hasty retirement.
“I respect Tyson,” he told SunSport on a whizz around the London Eye.
“I think me and Tyson respect each other. ‘Greedy Belly’ has been my best opponent and my best friend.
“It doesn’t matter, it’s just bad behaviour.
“My other opponents have shown good behaviour and respect, we have a fight and then we have no problem. It’s just sport.
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“But Tyson didn’t show respect and that’s OK, no problem.
“It’s just a problem for Tyson, not for me.
“I respect my opponents and for me that’s very important.”
On Thursday of fight week, the pair endured a record-breaking 12-minute face-off where Fury towered over his rival, ranted about butchering Usyk and barked that he was a “bug-eyed b******” and a “f***ing rat”.
Fury fans thought their bushy-bearded hero was perfectly poised on the warpath.
But a look across the Riyadh stage at grinning little Usyk told us that the cheeky southpaw had already won the mind games and would complete the double in the ring.
Usyk remembers the one-way trash-talk marathon with a smile and reckons Fury dressed up his diatribe with a pair of high heels.
“When we had our last face-to-face I got a sore neck from being so close and having to look up at him,” he told us.
“I thought, ‘What is going on? It should not be like this.’
“But I think that Tyson had big shoes on.
“After we did about 10 minutes of staring and everyone was shouting around us.
“My team were holding onto the back of my jacket and pulling me back and away. But I told them I was relaxed.
“After 12 minutes, my mind was just whirring about my life, my fights, my friends, my mind works at speed.
“When Tyson was calling me names, I just thought, ‘Good, we go to work.’
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“The stuff that happens before the fight is just for show.”
SunSport endured a scorching hot Ukrainian sauna with Chisora last month where he pointed out that Usyk has left his UK opponents with PTSD.
Bellew and Fury retired after Usyk defeats, Joshua had an emotional breakdown and Daniel Dubois surrendered in the ring after a stiff jab.
Usyk nods when reminded of his fighting feats and Del Boy’s praise but refuses to celebrate them.
When asked how he has left so many bigger and stronger men shellshocked, he says: “I don’t know, I really don’t know, I have no idea.
“Maybe because I win? But Derek is a great man.
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“I am proud of my family and of my team. What I do in boxing is just sport.”
Last year, proud Cossack Usyk told us his favourite ancestral warrior was Ivan ‘The Wolf’ Sirko, whose moustache and haircut he has regularly recreated.
The military leader was so feared and idolised that after his death, his army impaled his hands on spikes and carried them into battles high above their heads.
SunSport hopes Usyk now has a dream to be revered in a similar style by his legions of fans in the future now his name is etched into history as a London 2012 gold winner, undisputed cruiserweight king and undisputed heavyweight boss.
Typically he floors us with a trademark dash of modesty.
“It doesn’t matter how I am remembered in 100 years,” he says. “Because I will not be there to see it.”