Tyson Fury offers Oleksandr Usyk an ultimatum
On March 10 at midday, WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury offered unified titlist Oleksandr Usyk an ultimatum.
'The Gypsy King' posted a video on social media to say, "I see all this talk of boxing fights, they want 50%, Tyson's being greedy… where I'm standing, Usyk, you and your team are worth 30%. You either take it or you leave it.
"And if you don't want it, I will fight Daniel Dubois at the Copper Box and get a few million dollars. You want to make some real money? Come and fight The Gypsy King. But I will say that every day, from today, that you linger and mess around, I'm going to deduct 1% from the 30%.
"So every day I'm going to deduct 1% until you take it. And if don't take it, I'll fight Dubois for $2million. Not a problem.
"But how in the world could you's ever offer me a deal? Not possible. Tick tock, tick tock."
Sporting News Deputy Editor, Tom Gray, instantly responded with his opinion, "I keep things balanced. I said yesterday that 60/40 for the winner of Fury-Usyk doesn't work. A straight 60-40 to Fury is what this fight should be. As the bigger financial draw, he deserves that. However, 70-30 Fury will – and should – get laughed out of dodge."
BBN Editor, Tim Rickson, shared his views too, "Fury is the bigger draw, so when talking about purse splits, this has to be reflected in the deal. So, straightaway, a 60/40 deal should be on the table. Fury asking for 70/30 is not outrageous, but I also don't think it's acceptable."
There was a mixed reaction from fight fans:
"If Usyk is serious he will accept this offer. How can a man who's never sold a PPV or sold out an arena or stadium as the A-side demand 50/50 from one of the biggest stars in the sport"
"He has a strong point here to be fair, there is no way this is a 50/50 purse split fight."
"I am a Tyson Fury fan but this is becoming a joke."
"Fury is right, Usyk is a nobody."
"Translation: 'Usyk, I've seen how you handled AJ twice and I don't want to risk losing to you, so I am pricing myself out of the fight.' Absolutely ridiculous, fury is the only man stopping the fights with Usyk and the fight with AJ ever happening."
A poll created by a Twitter user revealed that fight fans would rather see Fury face Andy Ruiz Jr next if the undisputed clash with Usyk falls through. Ruiz Jr stopped Fury's biggest British rival Anthony Joshua in seven rounds in June 2019, in what was a disastrious U.S. debut for AJ. The Watford man managed to win back his world titles in the rematch with a safe performance to win on points against an out of shame, ill-disciplined Ruiz Jr, who didn't prepare fully for the return fight.
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