Tyson Fury attempts to price himself out of an undisputed fight with dangerous Pound for Pound king Oleksandr Usyk.
“The Gypsy King,” who wanted to fight Derek Chisora earlier this month, has no other options open to him right now.
His UK and US promoters want him to face Usyk for all the heavyweight belts. And despite a 50-50 offer, Fury is making unreasonable demands.
In stating his intentions to hold out for over half a billion dollars, the fight will never happen unless Fury gets real.
Tyson Fury Oleksandr Usyk
Usyk and Anthony Joshua made around $80 million each after Pay Per View revenue for their clash last weekend. Therefore, Fury must expect no more than $150 million to make it work.
Frank Warren and Bob Arum are already on the case. However, Fury won’t get his legacy fight unless his terms go down.
“Usyk’s team and the fighter said immediately after the fight he wants it,” Warren told talkSPORT.
“I know Tyson wants it. Myself and [US co-promoter] Bob Arum, we want it. It will just be how we make it work financially.
“There will be big demands from both boxers, and rightly so. This is a unique event. This is the biggest heavyweight title fight since Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier.
“It’s a huge fight because both are undefeated. All the belts are there to be won. Many people have a split opinion on who will win, which is great.”
World Cup
On where the fight may take place, a date on the eve of the Football World Cup is being discussed.
“This is boxing’s World Cup, our blue riband event. We will make it happen, but where it takes place will be determined by finance,” admitted Warren.
“At the end of the day, it’s where the most money can be generated.”
With the World Cup happening in Qatar, the Middle East has become the ideal venue.
“If it were to go to the Middle East, it makes it better because of the time of year as it won’t be so hot.
“There would be many people over there because people will be over there for the World Cup. I think people will travel for this fight from the UK.
“Would it be better for us for it to go on at Wembley? Of course, you can imagine the atmosphere, and you’d sell out immediately.
“The money these guys are talking about, it just won’t work. This is a once-in-a-lifetime fight. And this is the Thriller in Manila. This is the Rumble in the Jungle.
“This is a big fight that not just the Middle East but other parts of the world would be interested in hosting.”
Contact
On contact before Usyk defeated Joshua, Warren stated: “We had talked before the fight with Usyk’s camp.
“We met with them three or four weeks ago. There are no problems with them.
“The good thing about this is that no rival TV companies are involved. They don’t have any promotional ties.
“The terms of the deal are straightforward, it will be a 50/50 split, but it’s where we can generate the most income to make it work.”
Warren then admitted a speculated two-fight could be in the offing.
“Regarding whether there will be a rematch, I don’t know. It depends on what package is put together.
“What I’m focused on is getting the fight on. That’s the one we want to see.”
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