Zhang Zhilei’s manager Terry Lane says he understands that Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are in talks about making their long-awaited undisputed showdown next despite “The Gypsy King’s” insistence that he has no interest in pursuing the bout.
Fury is set to face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a money-spinning crossover clash on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fans had hoped to see Usyk and Fury in the ring together this year, however, negotiations broke down in March over the purse split for the rematch.
According to ESPN, Fury was unwilling to compromise on anything greater than an even share in the event of a loss while Team Usyk wanted the 70/30 split in favour of Fury for the inaugural encounter to be reversed if they came out victorious. Usyk and Co pulled the plug on discussions after their demands were not met and since then Fury has washed his hands with the four-belt shoot-out.
However, Lane is under the impression that both parties are trying to make Usyk vs Fury after the Ngannou exhibition. Speaking in the immediate aftermath of his client’s sensational third-round knockout victory over Joe Joyce on Saturday, Lane said he would love to match Zhang against Fury but understands it may not be possible due to the Usyk fight taking precedence.
“We would love to fight Fury, but I do believe they are trying to make Fury vs Usyk next,” Lane told Sky Sports. “We’ve got to see in a few weeks if they make that fight.
“If not, we’re not going to sit back and wait. There’s other names like (Deontay) Wilder out there, so it’s just really hard to say, but I do think after last night, there’s Usyk, Fury and Zhilei and then everyone else [in the heavyweight division]. But Zhilei is 40 years old, he wants to fight big names and guys like Wilder are out there and we’re just going to have to see what happens.”
This comes after Fury affirmed that he is hoping to face current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones next and not Usyk. “He’s [Usyk] just a foreign person who doesn’t speak good English so you can’t really sell him,” Fury told the Daily Mail two weeks ago. “I am looking for probably another American. Probably looking to fight Jon Jones in a boxing fight.”
In June, Jones revealed that he was in “very real” talks with Fury about a two-fight deal in both boxing and MMA. Fury has also flirted with the idea of rematching Ngannou in the Octagon once they have gone toe-to-toe under Marquess of Queensbury rules.