Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk looked like they were set to fight on April 29 after the Ukrainian called the bluff of Fury, receiving plenty of praise.
He sold himself and his three belts short at a 70/30 split as long as Fury donated a sum in the millions to the Ukrainian support fund. However, Fury has changed his mind again, releasing a video of himself earlier.
In said video, he looks to add more conditions onto the fight before he agrees to it, and that certainly hasn’t gone down well with Usyk’s team.
What did Tyson Fury say?
Earlier today, Fury released a video statement, claiming: “Hi, Tyson Fury here. Just a quick one, I’ve been speaking to the lawyers today and Usyk’s people are talking about rematch clauses and all that b******s. Here’s one to up the ante, how about, there is no f**king rematch clause, for both of us.
“ Let’s up the ante completely, never worry about what’s in the future or how many more dollars you can get when you’ve been defeated, worry about the fight, April 29th, no rematch clause, the winner takes the glory, the loser goes home with his d**k in his hand. How about that? Agree to that you f**king b***h.”
As you can imagine, that hasn’t gone down well, with suggestions Fury has no intention to fight with such a quick turnaround, Usyk has a month of training behind him and Fury has none, so was his insulting 70/30 split a bluff all along?
Video: Tyson Fury looks to change his demands to fight Oleksandr Usyk again
What has Oleksandr Usyk’s team said in response?
In a talkSPORT exclusive, Alexander Krassyuk, Usyk’s promoter has accused Fury of being scared to fight the Ukrainian, saying: “As Usyk said, the greedy belly is still hoping to find a way to pull out. We knew before and know it now. As soon as Usyk accepts a no rematch clause there will still be searching for another thing to find and pull out the fight.
“I tell you why. He bluffed and Usyk called his bluff. This is 100 per cent. He didn’t expect Usyk to accept 70/30. He was not in a training camp and we say the next morning the theatrical performance that he was pretending to jog and fight someone in the ring.
“It’s all about nothing. He’s not prepared and scared to fight. He will try to find a way to avoid Usyk for as long as possible. We don’t trust him, we don’t believe him. One more thing to know, when we started the negotiations, Fury’s side was the first to ask for the rematch. Fury were the first to ask for the rematch and we supported this.
Talking on the potential for the fight in the future, Krassyuk admitted: “I don’t believe anyone will fight. Even if you accept this now, he will still try to find a way out.
“He just doesn’t want this fight to happen as he knows he’s not prepared for it. It’s only five weeks left, it’s not sufficient for any proper fighter to get prepared for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Krassyuk was then asked if Usyk is ready, to which he retorted: “He is ready. He’s been in training camp since December. The fighter is the final decision maker. It’s up to Usyk to make the decision. He made it the first time, second time and he will make it the third time.
“Whatever we accept from Fury, it will not leave us with a fight, he will escape it anyway. His credibility is already shot to pieces… The man is trying to escape. I’m really sorry for Tyson fans in the UK and throughout the world.
“It’s a shame for a fighter to behave like that. It’s not about money, it’s about fear. For a big man like Tyson, it’s impossible to have so much fear. Usyk wants this fight badly. He cannot fight just by himself, he needs an opponent in the ring. His opponent is ducking him. I don’t feel this fight will happen on April 29, whatever conditions Usyk will accept.”
This has been building up to be the fight of the year, an undisputed champion in the heavyweight division for the first time in over two decades, but it looks like we may have to wait a little longer. Come on, Tyson, get the contract signed and stop changing the demands!
