John Fury, father of heavyweight champion, Tyson, has blamed ‘Saudi money’ as the reason for the collapse of the proposed undisputed title fight between his son and Oleksandr Usyk.
A couple of months ago, it seemed that a deal was close between the two champions until Usyk ‘pulled the plug’ on the deal after issues regarding a rematch clause.
Instead, fans are hoping that the pair will collide in Saudi Arabia at the end of the year, with Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder all seeming interested in taking part in a four-man heavyweight tournament.
However, Fury has shown less interest, which could put a dampener on the hopes of the historic night coming to fruition.
In an interview with Stamina For Sale, John Fury explained that the Ukrainian’s head was turned by the potential pay-day in Saudi Arabia.
“Usyk is just some overrated cruiserweight and Tyson offered him his biggest ever payday, to fight at Wembley. His biggest ever payday by far, and what happened? He got tempted by Saudi money, which they thought would turn all the blame on Tyson and the Fury’s, and they opted for the Saudi money.”
“Whatever he was making, he was making a fortune, it was in the millions, well into the millions, but all of a sudden the Saudi’s come with this trough full of dollars, forty, fifty, seventy million, they’re in it for the money.
They are prize fighters, and they thought, ‘you know what, I’d rather get beat for fifty million’ than get beat for whatever he was getting in Britain, which was a nice pay-day but it was nowhere near Saudi money.”
“He can beat Usyk with one hand, and I will stick my neck out and say that in front of any company.”
Now, Fury seeks a fight in the summer, potentially against Zhilei Zhang, before making a decision on whether he will participate in the suggested tournament or not.