Though we haven’t gotten word that the undisputed clash between the lineal and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, and the WBO, WBA, and IBF heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk won’t happen, things certainly seem to be trending in that direction. With mega-fights such as Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, and Stephen Fulton Jr., vs. Naoya Inoue recently being made, with months of positive chatter leading into an official announcement, we seem further than ever from a potential heavyweight mega-fight.
Recently, the co-promoter of Tyson Fury, Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions, recently spoke to talkSPORT and things came off as a bit grim. Rather than hints of optimism, it seems as though the sides are further apart than ever at the present moment.
The adage goes, money is the root of all evils and does it get more evil to a fight fan than not getting the best fights possible? The moments that run side-by-side with their own mortality, make sense of their everyday life and help them cope with the struggles and adversities they will inevitably face. I am sure we can think of worse things if we try, but money often is what ruins a good thing in life, and especially in boxing. Fury vs. Usyk is no different.
"We want to make it happen,” said Oleksandr Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk to talkSPORT. “If [Tyson Fury] doesn't want it, we can't make him want it.”
More came to the light two weeks ago, when Fury’s father, John Fury, did a sit-down interview with Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV, in Saudi Arabia. The major focus was once again money, and despite Fury only having one title belt his attraction needs to be weighted more than the achievements of Usyk. We’re at the eleventh hour of this prizefight, and things are looking dim and grim.
“You know Tyson [Fury] is ready to fight anyone in the world, you’ve got to pay him what he is worth,” said Fury’s father, John Fury when speaking to Fight Hub TV two weeks ago. “…I don’t think [Oleksandr] Usyk is worth a 50-50 [split of the purse]. Usyk on his own can’t sell the 02 [Arena] out. Tyson [Fury] brings a 94,000 crowd, the world’s media, [Tyson Fury] deserves to be the a-side, and he deserves a-side money.”