By Barry Holbrook: Oleksandr Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas says the 70-30 split is only for the April 29 date of the fight, but if the contest needs to be moved to a later time, it will be a new split of 50-50.
Klimas told Steve Kim that 70-30 only works for April 29th. If Fury needs more time with a new date, it will be a 50-50 split.
It’s doubtful Fury will agree to the new 50-50 split if a new date is required for the fight, which means the two won’t meet for the undisputed heavyweight clash.
Despite WBC heavyweight champion Fury having fewer titles than IBF, WBA & WBO champ Usyk, he views himself as more deserving of a wider split due to his popularity in the UK. Fury isn’t popular outside of the UK, however.
Given Fury’s nonchalant attitude towards the Usyk fight, he’ll probably be pleased if it doesn’t happen because he could go in a different direction toward a more lucrative match against Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua, or Deontay Wilder.
Fury’s team hasn’t said anything yet about wanting to move the April 29th date, but given Fury’s current physical state, he might need more time.
From Egis Klimas (manager of O.Usyk),"BTW, we're going to enclose in the contract, the 70-30 (split) is for April 29th. If that fight (Fury-Usyk) moves to a different dte, it's not going to be a 70-30 deal. It's going to be 50-50." #boxing
— Steve Kim (@SteveKim323) March 13, 2023
The 34-year-old Fury will know that obviously when he begins to spar at some point and is getting batted around the ring by his younger, better-conditioned sparring partners.
Usyk’s team notes that WBC heavyweight champion Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) is out of shape, has only six weeks to prepare, is not training with coach Sugarhill Steward, and seems focused on losing weight now.
Usyk and his promoter Alex Krassyuk suspect Fury is looking for an escape route out of the fight, not wanting to go through with it due to his lack of time to prepare. Krassyuk pointed out that Fury’s trainer Sugarhill isn’t in camp with him, and there are no sparring partners.
With Wembley Stadium booked for the Fury-Usyk fight on April 29th, Fury only has six weeks to prepare, which might not be nearly enough. Krassyuk says Usyk has been training since December and has a huge headstart on the out-of-shape-looking 34-year-old Fury.
The demand by Fury yesterday about Usyk needing to back off from his assistance on a rematch clause for the fight could be the beginning of an opening salvo from Tyson about wanting other things changed in the contract, which could result in the fight being delayed.
