London’s Wembley Stadium looks set to play host to the undisputed world heavyweight title bout after Oleksandr Usyk sensationally accepted Tyson Fury’s 70-30 offer.
Negotiators for both fighters have been locked in discussions for months, and despite the proposed bout appearing to be on the verge of collapse, it now seems an agreement has finally been struck.
WBC strap holder Fury broke his silence by issuing the Ukrainian an ultimatum on Friday morning, telling the former cruiserweight king that he is not worth any more than a 30 percent split of the purse, and would deduct one percent from his offer for each day he was forced to wait for an answer.
However, Usyk has now officially responded and accepted the offer, meaning the heavyweight division could see the crowning of its first undisputed champion in almost a quarter of a century, and first four-belt champion ever!
The Ukrainian's acceptance of the deal has come with the caveat that Fury must make a £1m donation to his country's war fund - a figure that will rise by one percent for every 24 hours that the Morecambe man fails to accept the terms.
Our resident boxing expert Rob Tebbutt has been tracking developments for some time, and told us: “This is just another day of heavyweight boxing – it’s crazy!
“Yesterday I sat down with Alex Krassyuk who told me that it didn’t appear very likely that the fight would happen on April 29th, and also told me that he had yet to receive any form of offer from Team Fury.
Alex Krassyuk and WBA, IBF, WBO & IBO world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk
“However, we have seen that offer come today of 70-30 from Tyson Fury, and we have now seen a response… Oleksandr Usyk has accepted the offer on the condition that Fury makes a £1m donation to the Ukrainian effort.
“This is very interesting, because the general feeling is that 70-30 is too wide. 50-50 was probably too close considering Fury’s significant drawing power here in the UK. For me, 60-40 would have maybe bridged that gap, but Team Usyk have accepted Fury’s demands!
“This news is very exciting. It’s been a very up and down period – the fight has been on, it has been off, and so on, but finally, it looks as though we may have an undisputed heavyweight title fight on Saturday, April 29th.”
Fury has yet to confirm whether he is happy to adhere to the £1m Ukrainian war fund donation request, but if he is, then we could just be a matter of weeks away from one of the biggest fights in world boxing history.
| Tyson Fury | Oleksandr Usyk |
Age: | 34 | 36 |
Fights: | 34 | 20 |
Wins: | 33 (1 Draw) | 20 |
Losses: | 0 | 0 |
Knockouts: | 24 | 13 |
Current Titles: | WBC title | WBA, IBF, WBO & WBA titles |
Height: | 6ft 9in | 6ft 3in |
Reach: | 85 inches | 78 inches |
Stance: | Orthodox | Southpaw |