After several frustrating rounds of failed negotiations over the past year, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have finally put pen to paper for a battle to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion. As first reported by ESPN, Fury and Usyk will meet in Saudi Arabia in either December or January.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren confirmed the news on social media on Friday morning.
Fury also posted on social media, writing, “I do what I say. I say what I do. UNDISPUTED. THIS IS THE GYPSY KING ERA. You can’t run rabbit run anymore Usyk — you’re getting it.”
The previous round of negotiations for the fight broke down in March. Usyk’s team pushed for a 60-40 purse split in favor of the bout winner. Fury responded, “From where I’m standing, Usyk, you and your team are worth 30%. You either take it or you leave it. And if you don’t want it, go fight Daniel Dubois and get a few million dollars.”
Usyk declared on social media that he would accept just 30% of the split, a shocking concession for one side of such a massive fight. Despite this, the fight did not come to fruition and Fury instead lined up a fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28 and Usyk defeated Dubois on Aug. 26.
This is a fight that has been talked about for years, with Fury finishing off rival Deontay Wilder with back-to-back stoppage wins to claim the WBC heavyweight title while Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua in two fights, capturing the WBO, WBA and IBF titles in the process.
As undisputed championship fights have become more common in recent years, a battle between Usyk and Fury to crown the first undisputed heavyweight championship of the four-belt era only made sense.
Instead, undesirable fights like Fury vs. Derek Chisora in a trilogy fight have taken place, slowing down the momentum of the heavyweight division.
