Tyson Fury has been accused by his rival’s promoter of asking for ‘too much money’ as a heavyweight unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk is looking increasingly unlikely. The heavyweight clash, which fans have been waiting for, looked on the cards when Usyk attended Fury’s last fight against Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December with the pair going face-to-face afterwards.
However, four months on and a deal between the heavyweight world champions looks far from being agreed. Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk claims that Fury wants ‘too much money’ from the unification bout hinting that the Gypsy King doesn’t want the fight to happen.
“I can tell you only the words that I hear from my negotiators, my partners, Frank and George Warren,” said Krassyuk talking to iD Boxing. “According to their reports Tyson Fury was asking for too much money. Even if Usyk would get zero for the fight, it would still not be sufficient for Tyson to cover what he wants.
“That’s actually the point. Normally, when the fighter doesn’t want the fight, he asks for something impossible and then it’s not happening. That’s according to my experience. I’ve been in boxing for a while, almost 20 years, and that’s what I’ve seen so many times.”
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WBC title holder Fury has an unbeaten record of 33-0, while Usyk beat Anthony Joshua twice to win and retain the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight belts. Krassyuk said that they are looking for ‘two fights’ against Fury with the loser offered a re-match. He also said the Ukrainian’s camp were willing to be flexible moving from the 50/50 split for the first fight.
Usyk’s promoter says that the Gypsy King owes it to his fans to take on the 20-0 unbeaten Ukrainian who moved up from cruiserweight after dominating that division. “They love you because you are a great fighter,” added Krassyuk. “You are a big entertainer. But what about sports? You’re not a Hollywood star yet.