Tyson Fury's undisputed heavyweight title fight against Oleksandr Usyk is unlikely to take place because of the Brit's financial demands, according to Usyk's promoter.
Fury and Usyk have been pencilled-in to fight on April 29 but Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk has claimed that Fury's money demands are dampening hopes of the undisputed clash taking place. Krassyuk insisted that even if Usyk was to face 'The Gypsy King' for free, it still wouldn't be enough to cover the purse Fury is requesting for the fight.
"I can only tell you from the words I hear from my negotiators, my partners Frank and George Warren. According to their reports, Tyson Fury was asking for too much money," Krassyuk told iD Boxing. "Even if Usyk if would get zero for the fight, it would still not be sufficient for Tyson to cover his [demands].
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"Normally when a fighter doesn't want to fight, he asks for something impossible and then it's not happening. That's according to my experience. I've been in boxing for almost 20 years and that's what I've seen so many times. When you're looking for an opponent for your fighter and finding a proper option, and he doesn't want to come, he says, 'pay me 100 instead of five'."
Warren has insisted the "history making" fight must be agreed by the end of this week if it is to take place on April 29. Krassyuk is ready to find another opponent for Usyk if they fail to reach a deal, also claiming that Fury initially agreed to a 50/50 split but changed his mind by demanding more money.
"What can I say? We are open, we are ready to go, maybe someone wants to avoid the danger and to stay in a comfortable position," he told talkSPORT. "I don’t know and I really don’t care. If Tyson doesn’t show up, we still have the belts and we go our way We initially agreed for 50/50, but then Tyson was asking for some bigger money. We made it clear that we are ready to go 60/40, but the winner takes 60."
Krassyuk has suggested a 60/40 purse split in favour of the winner, but claims Fury has rejected the offer. The Brit's unrealistic demands have made Krassyuk question whether he is fit enough to face the Ukrainian. No undisputed heavyweight champion has been crowned in the last two decades and it's looking likely that will continue to be the case with Fury and Usyk's talks coming to a standstill.
