Tyson Fury has demanded a whopping £500million to come out of retirement and face Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian defeated Anthony Joshua for the second time on Saturday night, with fans now calling for a showdown with Fury to decide who can claim to be the undisputed king of the heavyweight division.
Joshua’s standing at heavyweight took an almighty blow in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this weekend as Usyk boxed his way to a convincing points victory. It was the second time in a year that the Brit was toppled by his much shorter opponent, who has taken the step up from cruiserweight in his stride.
Usyk and Fury both boast undefeated records and a high boxing IQ, with fans clamouring to find out who would come out on top in a 12-round scrap. Fury retired from the sport in April after knocking out Dillian Whyte but claims that he could reverse that decision if the price is right.
“Everyone keeps asking about this fight with this Ukrainian guy,” he told talkSPORT. “I’ve made it quite clear that I’ve retired from boxing and I’m very happy. However, I will come back, but it has to be an obscene amount of money.
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“Let’s face it, it’s not Anthony Joshua, it’s some foreigner who nobody really cares about and that’s it. I don’t mind chucking a dog a bone, but I don’t want to chuck him the whole dog’s home. If they want me to fight this unknown quantity and give him an opportunity of legendary status, then they’ve got to pay for that. They’ve got a week, it’s August 24 today.
“This fight is purely about money. I’m happily retired. If they want the Gypsy King to fight, they’ve got to pay an obscene amount of money. [Floyd] Mayweather got £400m for [fighting Manny] Pacquiao, I want £500m for Usyk. There you go. I know they’ve got the money. They’ve offered Tiger Woods £1billion before.
“I have no real interest in Usyk, a pumped-up middleweight who just beat AJ. It ain’t my fault that it’s happened twice in a row. However, there’s only ever been one and it’s me. There’s no disrespect to Joshua because he’s a 24-3 fighter, but at top level boxing he just can’t cut it. People can say what they want, this fight is purely about business.”
After beating Joshua via split decision, Usyk claimed that if he couldn’t fight Fury next, he wouldn’t fight at all. The 35-year-old would come into the bout a full six inches shorter than his opponent, whose only blemish came in a controversial draw with Deontay Wilder that almost saw him knocked out in the final round.
Fury and Usyk would likely face off with all four heavyweight belts on the line, as well as their undefeated records. As such, the Brit’s promoter, Frank Warren, believes that both teams will come together to make the fight happen.
“He and Usyk would be a really good fight,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “It’s a fight that I think will be made because both teams would like to see that happen. Usyk said after the fight that it’s the only fight he’s interested in and it’s certainly the same case with Tyson. It’s just a matter of where it will generate the most income because it’s a unique fight, a historic fight.”
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