Oleksandr Usyk has reacted angrily to accusations that his team pulled out of the Tyson Fury negotiations because they were insistent on a rematch clause.
The two top heavyweights looked all set to face each other earlier this year after Usyk publicly accepted a 30% purse split. But just as fans started to get excited the Ukrainian’s teamed pulled out of all talks believing they weren’t going to get a fair deal.
A lot has been made of the collapse with both fighters receiving a portion of the blame from the boxing world.
In an interview with SecondsOut, Usyk was asked for the ‘actual reason’ the fight fell through as the WBC champion was claiming that ‘a rematch clause was the poison pill’.
“He needs to stop lying! It was his team who asked for the rematch. He wanted to fight Usyk without Usyk.”
It’s rare to see the unified heavyweight champion get frustrated and went on to say the main hurdle in making the fight was ‘The Gypsy King’s greed.
“Tyson Fury’s greed is something that stands as a challenge in making this fight happen. I don’t feel any negative feelings towards Tyson Fury, I even pray for him.”
This week Usyk signed a promotional deal with Saudi Arabia’s Skill Challenge Entertainment in the hope they can entice Fury into the undisputed clash.
Frank Warren, Fury’s UK promoter, says the Ukrainian’s new deal proves what they’ve been saying all along – the other team pulled out because they knew a bigger payday in the Middle East was a possibility for the end of the year.
The Saudi’s are planning on hosting the biggest heavyweight card of all time this December, with hopes of delivering Fury vs Usyk and Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder on the same night.