Oleksandr Usyk will now face mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois after talks for an undisputed world heavyweight title fight with Tyson Fury fell through.
The unified WBA, WBO and IBF champion, who also holds The Ring Magazine belt and the less-prestigious IBO title, was due to face Fury on April 29 at Wembley Stadium. But the bout was cancelled at the eleventh hour when, even after agreeing to a 70/30 split in his opponent's favour and no rematch clause, a deal could not be reached.
Instead, Usyk will have to face the WBA 'regular' champion Dubois after the Brit defeated Trevor Bryan last year for the belt and defended it against Kevin Lerena. The 19-1 prospect has stopped all but two of his opponents thus far, and despite having a solid base as a potential star in the UK will prove a much less lucrative opponent than Fury.
He sustained an injury during his fight with Lerena, during which he was dropped three times in the first round before recovering to finish his rival in the third. Should Dubois prove that he has recovered from his injuries, it's likely that he will be the next challenger to Usyk's belts with a UK bout likely.
Fury mocked Usyk for the possibility of facing Dubois during the public back-and-forth between the champions on social media, saying that he will only make "a few million" for the fight. "Where I'm standing, Usyk, you and your team are worth 30 per cent," he said in an angry Instagram video, which saw the Ukrainian call his bluff and sign on for the bout.
"You either take it, or you leave it, and if you don't want it, go fight Daniel Dubois at The Copperbox and get a few million dollars. You want to make some real money, come and fight 'The Gypsy King'. But I will say, for every day from today that you linger and mess around, I'm going to deduct one per cent from the 30 per cent.
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"Every day, I'm going to deduct one per cent until you take it, and if you don't take it, go fight Dubois for $2m. No problem. But how in the world did you ever offer me a deal? Not possible. Tick tock, tick tock."
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen who Fury will face next after his latest fight talks broke down. Manuel Charr's name is one that remains around the heavyweight champion's circle, but it would be an equally unpopular opponent to Derek Chisora, whom he caused controversy for fighting in a trilogy back in December.
Reports suggest progress was made over the weekend which led to positivity around the undisputed fight being made, but the pair couldn't agree on several critical terms to ensure a deal was inked. It remains unclear what could be next for Fury given question marks were raised over his readiness to compete in the ring.
