Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, has revealed the stark difference in what his man was paid in his title defence against Anthony Joshua compared to what he was set to receive for an undisputed bout with Tyson Fury.
As negotiations between the two champions’ teams are in jeopardy once more – this time perhaps fatally – talk has moved to why the fight can’t be made.
It’s understood that the biggest prevailing issue currently is the purse split the fighters would receive in a contracted rematch. Usyk has already publicly accepted Fury’s demand that he make just 30% for the first fight, and his team is now working to get their man a better deal in a second.
Krassyuk told Seconds Out that the money for the rematch clause was not the entire reason that they decided to ‘pull the plug’ on talks, but that it was an important part of a larger structure of issues.
He went on to say that people claiming the Ukrainian just wants another payday were mistaken, and that the first Fury fight wouldn’t earn him nearly as much as the rematch with Anthony Joshua did.
“Everyone’s trying to convince that Usyk would have his [highest] payday fighting Tyson Fury, but it’s not true. It’s not true. The money Usyk is supposed to make in this fight, probably three times smaller than he made in his last fight.
So it’s not the payday for Usyk 100%, and it’s not even close to it. He accepted it as the man of boxing, because he wanted to be a part of the heavyweight undisputed fight. He wanted to deliver this to the whole world, and especially to his homeland, to the country of Ukraine, where he is one of the biggest inspirations.”
It was reported at the time that Usyk was paid 50% of the split in the Joshua rematch – a deal that Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren said he would be happy to make for the Fury arrangement.
Of course, Usyk vs ‘AJ’ 2 took place in Saudi Arabia – that host nation alone making the larger purse unsurprising.
In fact, the decision makers behind the Fury talks were angling for the undisputed fight to land there, too, but that became unachievable.
Ultimately, though, Krassyuk says his fighter is not being held up by how many zeros are on his cheque – rather he feels mistreated in his status as a unified heavyweight champion in general.
Whilst Warren attempts to keep the talks alive, this is only the latest stumble in a string of them over recent weeks, and fans sense the fall coming soon.