Matchroom CEO, Frank Smith, has weighed in on the latest discussions between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk ahead of their proposed undisputed heavyweight title fight.
All hoped for Fury-Usyk seemed lost when the Brit revealed that he would only fight Usyk if the purse split was 70-30 in his favour.
Remarkably, the demands were accepted by the three-belt champion, keeping his dream of becoming just the second fighter – after Evander Holyfield – to have been an undisputed champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight alive.
Although many in the boxing community, such as Tony Bellew, feel that Usyk is being massively underpaid by agreeing to this figure, his willingness to fight has earnt him fans around the world, even in the United Kingdom.
One man who echoes that opinion is Smith who, in an interview with iD Boxing, showed his respect for the WBA, WBO & IBF champion, labelling him as a ‘hero’.
“Usyk is a hero. It just shows, all it is about for him is legacy in the sport, he is a star.
They’ve still got to make it. You can shout percentages etc., but they’ve still got to make it and I wonder whether the numbers still stack up for Tyson to do it in the U.K.”
Unfortunately, other hurdles continue to prevent on official announcement for the fight, despite the purse splits being agreed.
Usyk’s manager, Egis Klimas recently spoke out regarding the prolonged negotiations, stating that ‘enough is enough’ and issued an apology to fans, insinuating that he and Usyk’s team have done everything that they could to make the fight happen.