WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk seems to be losing patience regarding the slow-to-be-finalized unification fight between him and rival heavyweight champ Tyson Fury.
The fight has still not been made official this despite apparent progress and goodwill on both sides. Bob Arum, speaking with The Telegraph, basically said that the hold up for the fight being finalized is the Saudi moneymen and if they are going to come up with the cash to make the fight.
“If the fight ends up in Saudi Arabia, each fighter will make his deal with the Saudis,” Arum said. “Usyk’s people tell me they have a deal they they’re satisfied with, and now. And if the Saudis are truly interested, they’ll make a deal with us for Tyson Fury, and we’re off to the races. The fight would take place either before or after Ramadan, but the fighters don’t need a long window to prepare. Hopefully, it’ll get done. If not, I think Fury has a number of options, one of whom is Joe Joyce.”
It might be this “if not” portion of what Arum had to say that is frustrating Usyk. Is Fury 100 percent committed to this fight? Usyk took to social media to express his feelings.
“Fury, you talk about greatness in boxing. At the same time, you say, ‘give me a lot of money.’ Greatness in boxing is not determined by money; greatness comes from a victorious path,” Usyk wrote. “You say that I avoid you, although I never have, and in fact, I’ve come to you. I’m ready to box with you even without any prize money!”
It wasn’t too long ago when Fury was offering to fight Anthony Joshua for free; now Usyk is making the same offer. Of course, there is no way the money men who control the sport would ever permit this to happen. Still, it does show how badly Usyk wants the fight. Can the same be said of Fury? Does Fury want it as much as Usyk does? We all hope so, of course.
But in the world we live in these days, fans are never convinced a fight is definitely on until ALL the paperwork has been signed and the fight is made official – date, venue, the lot. In this regard, we’re still waiting for Usyk Vs. Fury to become a reality.
The clock is ticking.
