.png)
Promoters for the eagerly awaited heavyweight title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are expressing doubts that the fight will take place as scheduled on April 29. The fight, which would feature Usyk, the WBO, WBA, IBO, and IBF champion, and Fury, the WBC titlist, has been in the works for months, but negotiations appear to have unraveled after plans to stage the fight in Saudi Arabia were scuttled.
Promoters then looked to Wembley Arena in London for the fight, but there are concerns that there may not be enough money to satisfy both fighters. Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions, Fury’s promoter, expressed doubts over the weekend, and now Usyk’s promoter, Alexander Krassyuk, has echoed those sentiments.
Krassyuk told iD Boxing that he anticipates the fight will not take place on April 29th, saying that the terms for the fight are too short. He also noted that there has been no indication that Fury and his team are in training, which he sees as a signal that Fury has already decided not to fight.
Much has been made about the financial split for the fight, with Usyk’s side insisting on a 50/50 proposition and Fury’s American promoter, Bob Arum, saying that it would only be fair for Fury to get the “lion’s share” of the revenue. Krassyuk said his team proposed a 60/40 deal, but Fury rejected that option.
Krassyuk believes that the issue of a financial split is immaterial at this point and that Fury is demanding a flat fee that proceeds from the fight at Wembley simply will not cover. Krassyuk implored Fury to take the 60/40 split, saying that even if Fury is confident in fighting Usyk, he is still asking for something impossible, which is a common tactic used when a fighter does not actually want to fight.
The Usyk-Fury fight was eagerly anticipated, but it appears that the negotiations have hit a snag, and there are doubts that the fight will happen as scheduled. With both sides at an impasse, it remains to be seen whether they can come to an agreement that will allow the fight to take place.