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Oleksandr Usyk believes that Tyson Fury is afraid to fight him.
'The Gypsy King' retired from the sport of boxing following a knockout victory over Dillian Whyte in April. However, almost instantly following his announcement, Fury began being linked to several matchups.
Fury was quickly linked to a fight with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, aided by the two having a moment in the ring following his victory over Whyte. Instead, the conversation pivoted to the WBC Heavyweight Champion fighting the winner of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua.
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The two are set to clash in August in a rematch of their September 2021 thriller. 'The Cat' defeated 'AJ' via unanimous decision in their first outing. Ahead of the rematch, Fury has consistently downplayed a potential fight against the winner of the matchup.
The Englishman has gone back and forth on fighting the winner. While he's stated that he would fight Usyk or Joshua for a handsome figure, he's also claimed that he will never fight again regardless.
Usyk believes that Fury is downplaying a possible fight against him out of fear. In an interview with iFL TV, 'The Cat' spoke about a possible fight with 'The Gypsy King' saying:
"With the help of god [the fight will happen]. Tyson says he doesn't want to box me because I'm not on his level. That's because he's afraid of me."
Watch Oleksandr Usyk's interview with iFL TV below:
Oleksandr Usyk responds to Tyson Fury's request for 500 million
Tyson Fury has stated that it will take half a billion dollars to get him back in the ring. Earlier this month, the Brit made headlines for "agreeing" to fight the winner of Usyk vs. Joshua 2. However, that agreement was him stating that he would return to the squared circle for half a billion dollars.
Fury later clarified that he quoted the outrageous figure on purpose because he knows nobody can pay that much and he doesn't really want to fight again. The clarification didn't come as a surprise to Usyk, as he already believed it was a joke.
'The Cat' discussed the request in an interview with IFL TV. After laughing profusely at hearing how much money 'The Gyspy King' wanted, Usyk stated:
"He's probably kidding. 500 million? Who would give him 500 million? I also want 500 million!"
