On Friday, Oleksandr Usyk called Tyson Fury’s bluff by accepting a lowball offer from the WBC heavyweight champion for an undisputed unification.
Despite Usyk holding three of the four major titles, Fury used his position as the lineal ruler to inform the Ukrainian master that he would not be the one making the split deal.
The retort came after Usyk stated he proposed a 60-40 winner takes the largest portion contract for April 29 at Wembley.
Oleksandr Usyk accepts 70-30 Tyson Fury split
Fury came back with a 70-30 split and stated Usyk’s purse would lower by one percent with each day that passed without agreement,
In typical Usyk style, the WBA, WBO, and IBF titleholder responded the same day, labeling Fury a ‘greedy belly’ for his stance.
“Hey, Greedy Belly, I accept your offer of a seventy-thirty split to fight on April 29 at Wembley,” he said.
However, it wasn’t a straightforward acceptance. Usyk stipulated that Fury must donate some of his oversized fee to give back to the war-torn Ukrainian people.
“But you will promise to donate one mln pounds to Ukraine immediately after the fight. And for every day of your delay, you will pay one percent of your purse to the Ukrainian people. Deal?”
Usyk’s response to the lowball offer came on the same day the World Boxing Association laid down the ground rules for a mandatory fight.
Daniel Dubois is waiting in the wings as the next contender. The Briton will face Usyk if no deal gets made with Fury.
The WBA told Usyk that he must agree to battle Dubois if he didn’t seal the Fury fight.
The Championships Committee had ordered Usyk-Dubois but this was vacated to give priority to Usyk-Fury.
The deadline expired last Friday and an extension was granted until today at 5 p.m.
Therefore, at the end of this period, the combat between Usyk and Dubois will be ordered.
— WBA Boxing (@WBABoxing) March 10, 2023
WBA deadline for Daniel Dubois
“The deadline to agree on the unification between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will expire today at 5 p.m. (-5 GMT).
“After this deadline, the mandatory fight between Usyk and Daniel Dubois will be ordered to be negotiated.
“The Championships Committee had ordered Usyk-Dubois. But this was vacated to give priority to Usyk vs Fury.
“The deadline expired last Friday, and an extension was granted until today at 5 p.m.
“Therefore, at the end of this period, the combat between Usyk and Dubois will be ordered.”
Effectively, this means Fury vs Usyk is dead in the water. That’s unless both sides can guarantee a late deal to the WBA and get an extension.
So far, Fury has shown little interest in facing Usyk compared to his clash with Derek Chisora.
But in an unexpected twist during a Saturday morning run, the green and gold ruler updated fans that he was now training for the Usyk fight.
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