During the past week, there have been growing concerns that negotiations for the undisputed heavyweight championship matchup between WBC champion Tyson Fury and WBO, WBA, and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk had failed. However on Friday night, word spread that the WBA had been informed that the two sides had arrived at a provisional understanding for a match on April 29.
After Fury rejected a suggested purse split of 60-40 in favor of the victor earlier in the week, Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, told Sky Sports that he no longer believed Fury was interested in the fight. Krassyuk argued that Fury’s demands were making the fight impossible, which was even worse.
Krassyuk stated, “I can only tell you from what I hear from my negotiators, my partners Frank and George Warren. “They said that Tyson Fury was requesting an excessive amount of money. Even if Usyk received nothing for the fight, Tyson would still not be able to meet his [demands].”
Fury offered Usyk and his side a “take it or leave it” agreement on Friday morning in the form of a 70-30 purse split in Fury’s favor.
In addition, Fury asserted that he would take 1% away for each day the Usyk team rejected the offer.
Tyson is being greedy, they want 50%, Usyk, and everything that, claimed Fury. “You and your team, Usyk, are 30% valuable from where I am standing. Either you take it or you don’t. Go fight Daniel Dubois and win a few million bucks if you don’t want it. Come on, take on the Gypsy King for some serious cash. I would claim that I will deduct 1% for each day starting today that you delay and fiddle around.”
Fury’s “take it or leave it” offer appears to have been accepted by Usyk, as Usyk responded with a video message of his own.
“Hello, ravenous stomach. I’ll take up your offer “Says Usyk. “You and I divided the bout on April 29 at Wembley 70-30. Yet you’ll swear to give to Ukraine right away following the conflict. $ 1 million.”
The fight was initially supposed to take place in Saudi Arabia, however dates in February and March were canceled, therefore the fight was moved up to April 29. The fight’s scheduled location in Saudi Arabia was later abandoned, along with the inflated prize money that comes with bouts hosted there.
The battle is still scheduled to take place at Wembley Stadium in London, which was originally the original plan.
Usyk will probably fight Dubois, who now owns the “regular” WBA championship, making him one of Usyk’s mandatory challengers in the event that the bout does not go as planned despite the most recent events. In terms of Usyk’s mandatories, Dubois is also in first place.
Former unified champion Andy Ruiz, according to Fury’s brother Shane, might be the WBC champion’s next opponent “I believe Andy Ruiz Jr. is a terrific opponent, has a solid reputation, and is in good shape. Fans would want to watch that confrontation.”
Meanwhile, Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua to win his three world championships, and Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn tried to force Fury into a British boxing superfight with Joshua.
Earlier talks between the two came to an end when Fury set a deadline before committing to a trilogy fight with Derek Chisora.
“I’ve said to George Warren that we’ve got the base of the arrangement that we had last time, let’s progress with that and let’s get the deal done,” Hearn stated of Fury vs. Joshua on The Betfred Lightweight Boxing Show. “Usyk vs. Fury doesn’t have much of a financial incentive, which is one of the reasons why we don’t see it. Not as much of a fight as people believe. There is fortune in the bout between AJ and Fury. Let’s start now. Tyson Fury wants money, and he wants as much of it as he can get, as far as I know.”
