Fury vs. Usyk leaning towards England

By Boxing News - 02/12/2023 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk is now likely to be staged in London, England, rather than Saudi Arabia. That’s potentially bad news because it decreases the chances the fight will take place.

According to Mike Coppinger, there’s “a long way to go” before Fury & Usyk can agree to a deal. If the fight doesn’t happen, Fury, 34, will likely fight former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in the summer or Joe Joyce.

Given the massive pile of dough that Fury can make against the 34-year-old Ngannou, who would be making his debut in boxing, he’ll likely take that fight rather than the much tougher one against ‘The Juggernaut’ Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs).

Fighting Joyce would severely age Fury, and there’s a very good chance he loses unless he can rediscover the mobility he had during his younger days around 2015 when he was light on his feet and not the ugly, lead-footed mauler he’s become.

Joyce would overpower Fury if he attempted his bear-like mauling tactics with him, and he’s smart enough to know that. Hence,  Fury will almost surely take on the 340-year-old novice Ngannou,  who is a guy that wings right hands.

IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) has already made a deal with the Saudis, but WBC champ Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) is waiting for an offer that will satisfy him.

It’s unclear whether Fury wants an absurd amount of money,  but perhaps the only way he’s going to get what he wants is if the contest is moved to Wembley Stadium in London.

In that case, it makes it unlikely the Fury-Usyk fight will take place at all because Fury is a big star in the UK and will expect a much bigger split.

Staging Fury-Usyk in UK could kill deal

“The latest is they continue to work towards a deal, and the latest is that is the target date April 29th. That is just that at this point,” said Mike Coppinger to ESPN+ about the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk negotiations for April 29th.

Usyk has already closed his side of the deal with the Saudis. I was told that Tyson Fury is waiting for a formal offer from the Saudis. Hopefully, that offer will satisfy him, and if they can’t get it done for Saudi Arabia, then they’re going to look at Wembley Stadium in London.

“That issue becomes that Tyson Fury is a big star, and they would surely go to Usyk to try and get him to take less than 50-50, which could kill the fight. So the best chance for this fight to take place is if Fury can get the money he wants from the Saudis,” said Coppinger.

“I think they’re going to get the money. This fight is too huge for them not to get the money,” said Tim Bradley on the Fury vs. Usyk undisputed heavyweight clash. “I can’t wait for it to happen.

“One thing I want to tell you, folks. I’m thinking about what advantage does Usyk have? Fury is taller; he can punch, he has the range, and he has everything. I can tell you one thing. Imagine yourself being in traffic, you’re driving, and it’s bumper to bumper on the freeway.

“Guess who we envy the most during that time? We envy the guys with the motorcycles that come between the lanes. Guess who that is? It’s Usyk. Usyk can find the seam. He’s a small guy; he can get in and out of range.

“He’s going to attack Fury’s body, trust me. It’s going to be a difficult fight for Fury, but I’m still picking Fury to win, there’s no doubt about it on the scorecard, but it’s going to be a very difficult fight early on,” said Bradley.

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