By Charles Brun: Tyson Fury took to social media to make a fake call out to IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, letting him know that he’s “coming for you.”
Right now, it’s not promising that the Fury vs. Usyk fight will happen unless the Saudis come through with an unbelievable offer.
Fury’s words appear to be empty ones because for him to be rejecting the 50-50 split if the fight with Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) takes place in the UK suggests that he doesn’t value the undisputed championship fight enough to want to make the fight.
Fury’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank is waiting for a proposal this week from the Saudis to stage the fight over there potentially.
Fury may reject the offer from the Saudis and insist the Usyk fight take place in England, where Tyson will demand a more significant split. If you’re Usyk, it’s not in his best interest to have the fight take place in the UK because he can make better money fighting in Saudi.
While it may work in Fury’s best interest to have the fight in England, that won’t work well for Usyk unless he’s given a 50-50 split, which according to Arum, isn’t happening.
One reason why Fury might not feel that he needs to give Usyk a good deal is that he can make good coin fighting mediocre heavyweights without needing to risk his hide against quality fighters.
In Fury’s last two fights against British journeymen Derek Chisora & Dillian Whyte, he made boatloads of money with absolutely no risk.
With Fury making huge cash fighting lesser opposition, he’s not going to have the same ambition as other fighters to face elite-level fighters like Usyk, Joe Joyce, and Anthony Joshua.
“WBC #1 heavyweight world champion. Usyk, you’re calling out the Gypsy King,” said Tyson Fury on Twitter. “Rabbit, I’m coming for you, rabbit. You get me, rabbit? I’ll tell you what else. I’m going to bust you up real bad, you little middleweight.
“I’m going to slap you into a big pile of tattoos, sucker.”
If you’re Usyk, you might want to cut your losses and consider moving on if Arum insists on Fury getting the bigger split. Usyk has other options for his next fight, such as Filip Hrgovic, Frank Sanchez, Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr.
