Distribution of fees, disputes about revenge and exchange of insults: what prevents the fight between Usyk and Fury

The unification fight for the title of absolute world heavyweight champion was supposed to be the main event of the year in boxing. The owner of the WBA, WBO and IBF belts Alexander Usyk had to fight with the WBC champion Tyson Fury.

Recently, however, fans have been discussing not the sports component of the upcoming confrontation, but complex negotiations between the teams and the mutual exchange of insults. As a result, it did not come as a surprise to anyone when a month before the scheduled fight it became known about its breakdown.

The cancellation was first announced by Oleksandr Krasyuk, Usyk's manager. He lamented that the opponent's side treats his client without due respect and demands too many concessions from him.

"The feeling that after Usyk agreed to split the fee 70/30, Fury began to think that he could put a saddle around his neck and ride for fun. This is wrong," ESPN quoted Krasyuk as saying.

This was confirmed by another representative of the Ukrainian Egis Klimas. According to him, attempts to find a compromise led only to new demands from the opponent. In turn, Krasyuk stressed that if the agreement was so difficult, then there is no point in making efforts.

But the fight broke down when it seemed that the agreement was almost signed. The World Boxing Association (WBA) has set a deadline for athletes - March 10. Otherwise, Usyk would have had to face mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois. Shortly before the designated date, the parties reached a preliminary agreement to hold a fight on April 29 in London. The president of the organization, Gilberto Mendoza, demanded that the athletes present the contract before April 1.

Both according to media reports and according to the assurances of representatives of eminent heavyweights, the main stumbling block was the question of revenge.

However, in the rematch, in the event of his victory, Alexander allegedly demanded payments in reverse proportions - 70% to 30%. The Gypsy king insisted on an equal distribution of income. After the statement of the opposing team, he posted an appeal to him on social networks, in which he did not restrain emotions.

"You got your rematch and then you didn't want to fight. You've never had the courage in your life to go out against the Gypsy King. You've been trying to dodge the fight all week, begging for revenge. You got it and then you didn't even want to fight. <... > You're a petty hundred-pound coward," an angry Fury said.

The rival has not yet answered him in any way, but his wife did it, publishing a photo of Tyson with the caption "Gypsy Queen": "Being greedy is very bad. The best is yet to come."

In the teams, the boxers, of course, blamed each other for the disruption of negotiations. For example, the promoter of the Englishman Frank Warren did not rule out that his client could now retire.

"Tyson is very unhappy. He was preparing for the fight, training. I genuinely believed that Usyk had told the truth: he didn't care about money, he just wanted to fight for four belts. But he refused to meet. You can embellish this fact however you want, you can throw mud at me and Tyson. They refused to fight," Warren was quoted as saying by BoxingScene.

As for the discussion of the rematch, he called this topic difficult and recalled how Deontay Wilder demanded a third duel with the Gypsy King through the court. Obviously, now his team does not want to make a similar mistake.

"There was a question of how to divide the money for revenge, and we worked on it. <... > Why can't this obstacle be overcome if Usyk wants to fight? We want a fight too, so why can't we solve everything? <... > There is no reason to cancel everything," the manager complained.

It is curious that his ward recently offered Usyk a fight without the right to a rematch. He instantly retorted that the paragraph about him was originally proposed by representatives of the British and once again called him "Greedy".

One way or another, the abolition of a loud confrontation will be a big minus for everyone. In the case of the Ukrainian, we are talking about lost financial profits. His team can regularly list the regalia of the boxer, but dictates the conditions in this situation the owner of one belt in the person of Fury. It is he who today attracts the greatest interest of fans and earns a lot of money. So Tyson is absolutely right to say that if Usyk doesn't make concessions, he'll have to fight for a relatively modest fee with Dubois.

No less important is the sports aspect, because Usyk has the opportunity to go down in history as the absolute champion of the planet in two categories at once. Previously, he combined belts in the first heavyweight. Given usyk's age, it is not a fact that he will still be able to compete for the fourth, although the weights are able to fight at a high level after 40.

But Alexander risks losing everything in a confrontation with an extremely dangerous and far from so famous Dubois. The young prospect from the UK ranks first in the WBA rankings and has 19 victories, 17 of which are by knockout. A possible defeat from him will forever put an end to the meeting with Fury.

The disruption of the fight will negatively affect the legacy of the Briton. Today, many consider him the strongest boxer in the heavyweight division, but he will miss the opportunity to prove it in practice and combine belts. After all, even after the victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, Tyson did not collect all the most significant ones. The WBC trophy he is currently holding was missing. You can talk as much as you like about the incredible popularity of the Gypsy King and his ability to make money, but it will be the titles that will go down in history, and now Usyk owns most of them.

In addition, it will be difficult for the Briton to find motivation for further performances, since there are no opponents who are able to compete with him. He ended the trilogy with Wilder with two victories. Anthony Joshua, after losing to the Ukrainian, has not yet expressed a desire to meet with his compatriot. Only Andy Ruiz challenged the Briton, who in 2019 sensationally took belts from Joshua, but it is unlikely that a confrontation with him will arouse the interest of Tyson himself.

Therefore, it remains to be hoped that the parties will still be able to reach an agreement. There is plenty of time until April 1, when they have to sign a contract for the fight. It cannot be ruled out that the current statement about the breakdown of negotiations is only part of a cunning plan and an attempt to get better conditions.