Tyson Fury has vowed to end his retirement and fight Oleksandr Usyk if his rival begs and his "costly" demands are met.
The 'Gypsy King' defeated Dillian Whyte in his title defence back in April and declared that was his last time stepping beyond the ropes as a heavyweight champion. Nonetheless, the opportunity to face the winner of Anthony Joshua 's rematch with Usyk for the undisputed crown awaits and he is yet to vacate his WBC title.
Fury previously indicated that he would demand a staggering £500million to try and become the first man since Lennox Lewis to reign as undisputed king. However, he believes Joshua will lose his rematch with Usyk, which will see him called back into action. "He's gonna lose again, then they're gonna call for Achilles to come back," Fury told talkSPORT Fight Night when discussing a possible ring return. "And I'm gonna say, 'Get f***ed, I'm retired.' And then, when they're begging, I will return, but it's gonna be very costly."
It looked at one point this year like Fury could indeed face Usyk in an undisputed fight before his challenge against Whyte. The Brit held negotiations with a number of parties, exploring the idea of Joshua backing down so he could compete for all four major belts.
It would have also involved Whyte stepping aside and allowing the challenge, but after complications with the deal, the fight collapsed, which saw Joshua pursue his second meeting with Usyk. However, events in Ukraine saw the native return to his homeland to defend it against the Russian invasion.
This put the schedule on hold, with Joshua set to finally do battle with Usyk on August 20 in Saudi Arabia. Fury remains the WBC champion and has confirmed he will hold on to his belt for as long as possible, which is a clear indication he will likely wait for the outcome of the unified title clash.
Who do you think would win if the pair fought - Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk? Let us know in the comments section below!
Several people close to Fury have suggested that he would likely find an offer to finally fight long-term foe Joshua extremely tempting, given the breakdown of the potential bout last year. However, it remains to be seen if he could vacate his belt and retire if Usyk prevails over Joshua.
Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Fury is "worried" about fighting the tricky Ukrainian and claimed the star wanted a warm-up fight before accepting his previous challenge. He told iFL TV : "[Fury] had the chance to fight Usyk before DIllian Whyte and he didn't want to fight him for the undisputed title.
"He wanted to have a warm-up fight and then go into Usyk. That deal broke down and it was there for him, I don't think he'll like the style of [Usyk]. Maybe he's not that motivated about being undisputed if it's Usyk. I feel like he thinks he can beat Joshua, he knows the money will be out of control and he'll take the fight in my opinion."
