Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, has confirmed that negotiations with Tyson Fury’s team are ongoing and that he’ll be pushing for no less than a 50/50 purse split.
His comments come following a string of developments in talks for the undisputed fight between the two heavyweight champions. It is being reported that, due to construction issues, the fight will no longer land in Saudi Arabia.
Whilst it’s good news for UK fans that Wembley Stadium is now the only location in play, it opens up a new round of negotiations in terms of money. The oil-rich country was previously said to be making separate deals with each fighter, leading to no disputes on splits or amounts.
Now that it looks likely to land in Fury’s home country – and generate considerably less revenue – the teams must meet somewhere in the middle.
This is something Krassyuk disagrees with. He told Boxing Scene that he was still confident the bout could be made, but that he would be holding out for 50/50.
“I can’t really say anything in particular because we’re in the middle of negotiations, but I can say for sure if it’s a fair deal when it comes to the unification—which is the undisputed unification, where one fighter has three belts and the other has one belt—a 50-50 split sounds fair. It sounds more fair than it should be.”
“If Tyson accepts this fair condition, it means he’s a real warrior and he really wants to fight not just for money but for heritage, for legacy and for four belts in the biggest fight in heavyweight history at Wembley stadium. Why not? End of April, beginning of May, perfect timing.”
“But it has to be fair. As long as I’m representing Usyk, I will fight for fair conditions.”
Krassyuk said that he was flying to London to continue the talks, and positively stated that if things progress well the fight could be signed within three days.