Frank Warren has hit back at critics of Tyson Fury as he commented on unified world heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to sign his immediate promotional future with Saudi Arabian-fronted outfit Skill Challenge Entertainment.
Usyk was announced as the “Saudi’s” recent addition to their promotional stable on June 3rd, joined current WBC world cruiserweight world champion Badou Jack, and superseded Jack as the outfit’s highest calibre signing.
Usyk and been hoping to secure a fight with Tyson Fury for April of this year following a long-winded period of negotiations which ultimately became fruitless with no deal agreed upon between the two respective heavyweight kingpins. It is also reported that Saudi involvement had been reported in trying to secure an undisputed encounter before the proposed April offer and subsequent negotiations.
Warren has hit out at Usyk for signing with the Saudi Arabian promotional entity and stated to Talksport that Usyk is only interested in fighting for money, the same accusation that Usyk levelled towards Fury by referring to the WBC world champion as “Greedy Belly.” Warren insists that Usyk has only signed with the Saudi outfit is so that he does not have to Fury in the UK and for a much larger purse. Warren also rebuffed Usyk’s claims that the collapse of the previous negotiations between the pair is not down to Fury.
All Usyk is interested in is, getting a big payday and fighting for big paydays in Saudi Arabia,” he told talkSPORT Fight Night.
“I don’t blame him for that. I understand that but don’t make it that Tyson is the greedy person. You go to Saudi Arabia because they are going to pay a lot of money and that’s what it is.
“If you’re getting paid three or four times the amount of money, whether you want to call it greed, good business, or whatever, that’s not down to Tyson Fury.
“That’s the reason he didn’t want to fight Tyson Fury in the UK.
“We offered him that fight over the summer, and we kept it very quiet, we haven’t banged on about it, and in the interim period Usyk never came back with anything.”
There is a strong suggestion that a proposed fight between Usyk & Fury could take place in December in Saudi Arabia, which Skill Challenge Entertainment would promote. The undercard to the proposed main event would see former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua square off against career-long rival and former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder.
