John Fury factors finger at Oleksandr Usyk for Tyson Fury bout collapse
Tyson Fury’s father John says that Oleksandr Usyk had his ‘head turned’ by ‘Saudi money’ which he claims subsequently led to the collapse of the undisputed battle. The pair got here near finalising the paperwork for his or her historic four-belt shootout at Wembley Stadium in April.
However, the Ukrainian’s camp selected to stroll away from the deal after a disagreement over the proposed purse cut up for a second battle. Usyk accepted a 70-30 cut up in Fury’s favour for the inaugural encounter on the understanding that the odds can be reversed within the rematch supplied he received the primary time round.
However, in response to boxing insider Mike Coppinger, Fury wasn’t prepared to budge on something lower than a 50-50 cut up – angering workforce Usyk. Both males may find yourself combating later this 12 months although with Saudi Arabia stated to be planning a blockbuster four-man heavyweight event involving Fury, Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.
Speaking to Stamina For Sale, Fury Sr claimed that Usyk had been tempted to carry out for a extra profitable payday within the Middle East.
He stated: “Usyk is just some overrated cruiserweight and Tyson offered him his biggest-ever payday, to fight at Wembley. His biggest ever payday by far, and what happened? He got tempted by Saudi money, which they thought would turn all the blame on Tyson and the Furys, and they opted for the Saudi money.
“Whatever he was making, he was making a fortune, it was in the millions, well into the millions, but all of a sudden the Saudis come with this trough full of dollars, forty, fifty, seventy million, they’re in it for the money.
“They are prize fighters, and they thought, ‘you know what, I’d rather get beat for fifty million’ than get beat for whatever he was getting in Britain, which was a nice pay-day but it was nowhere near Saudi money. He can beat Usyk with one hand, and I will stick my neck out and say that in front of any company.”
In distinction to Fury Sr’s claims that the battle along with his son at Wembley can be Usyk’s ‘biggest-ever payday’, the previous undisputed cruiserweight champion’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk affirmed that the 36-year-old was set to obtain ‘three times less money’ than he did in his final bout with Joshua.
“Everyone’s trying to convince that Usyk would have his [highest] payday fighting Tyson Fury, but it’s not true,” the K2 Promotions chief advised Seconds Out in March. “It’s not true. The money Usyk is supposed to make in this fight, probably three times smaller than he made in his last fight.
“So, it’s not the payday for Usyk 100%, and it’s not even close to it. He accepted it as the man of boxing, because he wanted to be a part of the heavyweight undisputed fight. He wanted to deliver this to the whole world, and especially to his homeland, to the country of Ukraine, where he is one of the biggest inspirations.”