If Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk doesn't happen on April 29, 'The Gypsy King' will take a big hit.
The WBC Heavyweight Champion is currently in discussions to face 'The Cat' later this year. The two have been in contact for months now, following Usyk's win over Anthony Joshua last August. Sadly, the matchup has still not been made as of now.
Granted, the two sides have verbally agreed to the framework of a deal. The sticking point in making the fight happen was the revenue split for the matchup. For his part, Usyk wanted a 50/50 split, citing that each man was a heavyweight champion.
Tyson Fury didn't agree and refused to fight for less than a 70/30 split in his favor. Oleksandr Usyk wound up agreeing to the split, calling the Brit's bluff. Following that, Fury stated that they should again raise the stakes and not have a rematch clause.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
At this stage, the Ukrainian and his manager, Alex Krassyuk, are fed up with the champion's demands. While they remain in contact, Usyk's representative recently revealed in an interview with Sky Sports that the revenue split would change if they didn't fight on their targeted April date.
He stated:
"We never mention anything like June or August, it's never been under discussion. Usyk was very clear in his message. April 29 I accept 70/30 [for the purse split],"
See his comments below:
Oleksandr Usyk's manager slams Tyson Fury
Oleksandr Usyk's manager Alex Krassyuk isn't sure his fighter will box Tyson Fury.
'The Gypsy King' has begun sending video messages to 'The Cat' mocking him ahead of their potential fight. Along with that, Fury has been seen in the gym and stated that his training camp is already underway.
However, the Ukrainian and his team don't believe that. Thanks to the constant back and forth about the revenue split, and later talk of a rematch clause, Krassyuk has admitted he's not sure the fight will happen.
In an interview with Sky Sports, the manager placed the blame on Tyson Fury. Krassyuk stated that at this stage, everyone is on board with everything but 'The Gypsy King'.
He stated:
"We've been negotiating for so many months. We went through all the small issues, bigger issues, large issues whatever. So it's all done already. It's been done actually several weeks ago. But the one thing that was pending was Tyson's consent, which is still pending. Though he claims he's ready and pretends he's training."