Fury vs. Usyk Fight Off, Negotiations Cancelled

It seems that we won’t have the undisputed boxing heavyweight champion anytime soon, because Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk broke off their negotiations. According to the insiders from the boxing community, the two champs couldn’t reach an agreement when it comes to finances.

Both parties are accusing the other of the negotiation failure, and nobody is sure who is to blame for such an outcome. The bout was supposed to take place at Wembley Stadium on April 29 and be one of the biggest boxing spectacles over the past decade. The hype surrounding this clash was massive, even though it wasn’t confirmed at all in the first place.

Usyk’s manager stated that his client agreed to split the net revenue 70-30 in Fury’s favor, but certain disputes appeared afterward about other financial aspects.

“No matter how much Usyk compromised, he was pushed for more,” Usyk’s manager, Egis Klimas, claimed.

BREAKING: The undisputed heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is now off ❌ pic.twitter.com/LplfAU2G0r

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 22, 2023

The Ukrainian champion holds the WBA, WBO, and IBF heavyweight belts but isn’t the number 1 in the rankings. That place is reserved for Tyson Fury, who holds only the WBC title, but has a much deeper background in the heavyweight category than his rival.

Usyk won the title by defeating Anthony Joshua, and after that, successfully defended the same against AJ, who could not avenge the defeat in London.

Meanwhile, Fury reached his title against Deontay Wilder, against whom he had a trilogy that saw one draw and Gypsy King’s two victories. Besides dethroning the Bronze Bomber, Fury had two title defenses vs. Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.

His agent stated that Usyk wanted other benefits from the arrangement, which Fury wasn’t willing to accept. Eventually, he put take it or leave it to offer on the table. At first, that was accepted, and everyone believed the fight was on. March 10 was the deadline for the talks, set by the WBA, who didn’t want to wait any longer. Their mandatory challenger, Daniel Dubois, awaits his chance to meet Usyk, and attack the title.

The 25-year-old is one of the biggest heavyweight prospects and, with 19 wins and one loss, stands out as the biggest threat to all the older champions. Dubois is currently on a four-win streak that saw him beat several solid fighters, earning the mandatory challenger spot.

The WBA would later extend the deadline to April 1, but after the most recent development, they won’t wait anymore but proceed with arranging Usyk vs. Dubois fight.

‼️ Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk is NOT happening on April 29th, Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas has now declared. Klimas said: “No matter how much Usyk compromised, he was pushed for more.” He added that they hope for Usyk to return in a mandatory defence in June/July. [@SteveKim323]

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) March 22, 2023

The sources suggest that Usyk’s demand for Fury to donate one million pounds to Ukraine and its people might have been a problem.

“But you will promise to donate 1 million pounds to Ukraine immediately after the fight. And for every day of your delay, you will pay 1 % from your purse to the Ukrainian people. Deal?”

Tyson Fury didn’t say anything about that. His previous bout was last December, once he knocked out Derek Chisora in the 10th round. Usyk didn’t enter the ring since August 2021.

Some of the fans still hope to see their bout, as it would be a historic matchup, the first one for the undisputed title in the four-belt era. The chances of seeing this are very low, but they still exist. ESPN wanted to make this event one of the biggest pay-per-views in its history, and we could see some other parties stepping in and boosting the offer for both fighters.