The negotiations between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s camps had seemed to have reached a stalemate, but all has changed over the past 48 hours it would seem.
Tyson Fury remains the biggest draw in heavyweight boxing and his constant flirtations with retirement put him in a very strong negotiating position.
He has seemingly leveraged this into an incredible deal, achieving a remarkable 70/30 split between himself and Usyk should the fight go ahead next month. It’s quite simply an unheard of deal, especially given the belts that both boxers have.
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk
The fighters are now reportedly set for an epic unification fight on the 29th of April at Wembley Stadium.
Fury will put his WBC heavyweight belt on the line, whilst Usyk will be defending his WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles.
The victor will end the night with all four belts and become the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis.
At times, Fury appears disinterested in the boxing, his focus being almost entirely on the mega payday that is coming his way. Usyk called Fury out on this when accepting his terms calling him “greedy belly,” a phrase that, although accurate, will surely rile up Fury.
Usyk, on the other hand, is all about fighting the best and beating the best. Throughout his career, he has travelled the globe to fight his opponents on their territory and on their terms, 20 times out of 20 he has come out on top.
Fury will be putting up his own undefeated record when the two giants of heavyweight boxing clash, his record stands at 34 fights, 33 wins and one draw.
Tony Bellew cannot believe Usyk has accepted Fury’s demands
It isn’t just fans that can’t believe Usyk has accepted the 70/30 split. Former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew has taken to Twitter to show his respect for the sacrifice that the Ukrainian has made to ensure the fight went ahead.
He posted: “You can’t not respect this man! Sells himself and his 3 out of 4 belts well short.”
What stipulation has Oleksandr Usyk put into Tyson Fury’s demands?
One stipulation that Usyk added as part of accepting the money split was that Fury would pay £1,000,000 to the people of Ukraine at the conclusion of their fight, and if this was not forthcoming, then 1% of Fury’s purse would be due for each day that he was late.
It is another example of Usyk thinking of others before himself. Come 29th of April, he will be focused on destroying Tyson Fury.
A win for the Ukrainian and his legacy as an all-time heavyweight great will be sealed. If that were the outcome, the split for the rematch would be considerably better than 30/70. He would be The Cat that got the cream.
