By Robert Segal: Tyson Fury reacted with amusement to Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk saying that he should be stripped of his WBC heavyweight title if he goes ahead with his plans on fighting former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in an exhibition match next.
Fury pointed out that he doesn’t have a mandatory due with the WBC, so he doesn’t need to worry about being stripped. Last year, Fury defeated his then-mandatory Dillian Whyte by a sixth-round knockout.
With that said, the timing isn’t ideal for Fury to go for a money-grab circus-level fight against Ngannou because the 6’9″ ‘Gypsy King’ failed in his attempts to negotiate fights with Usyk and Anthony Joshua.
In both talks, Fury played hardball, making and seemingly shooting himself in the foot by sitting deadliness, purse splits, and rematch clauses.
What’s left of Fury’s dwindling fanbase wanted to see him take a quality tune-up before his undisputed championship fight with IBF, WBA & WBO champion Usyk later this year in Saudi.
Fighting Ngannou, an MMA guy in an exhibition, rumored to have a no-knockdown & no-knockout rule, is pure poison for Tyson’s popularity. While the exhibition could make money, thanks to the oddity of it, it makes Fury look like he’s already got one foot out the door into retirement.
“There’s a lot of unknown, irrelevant people talking about how I should be stripped of my belt,” said Tyson Fury on social media, reacting to Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk saying he should be stripped of his WBC belt if he faces MMA heavyweight Francis Ngannou in an exhibition match next.
“I don’t have a mandatory. When I do have a mandatory, it’ll be dealt with just like every other mandatory that I’ve ever had. Until then, keep on hating and enjoy the little tiny bit of money that you guys [Usyk] are making while the big G is in the house,” said Fury.
The truth is, Fury has only ever had one WBC mandatory, and that was Dillian Whyte. He says he’s “dealt with every mandatory,” which is misleading because there’s only been one, and that was the journeyman Whyte, who arguably had no business being his mandatory after he was knocked out in the fifth round by Alexander Povetkin in 2020.
“People keep asking me to say something bad about Tyson Fury fighting Ngannou. It’s disappointing for boxing, but I don’t blame him,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Boxing News. ”
He’s making a load of money to have an exhibition fight, but for me, exhibition fights happen when your career is done. You chase legacy and greatness first. If he really cared about his legacy, he’d fight Oleksandr Usyk. Whether it’s for 70 or 80 million, does it really matter?”
It looks like Fury has mentally checked out of his career since his win over Deontay Wilder, and he’s just looking to cash in at this point, letting greed take over.
One gets the sense Fury no longer sees boxing as a sport for him but rather an opportunity for him to make as much EASY money as possible. Hence, him setting impossible negotiating terms for his fights with Joshua & Usyk and moving on with other money endeavors.
“If you believe you can win and go down as one of the best heavyweights of our generation, that win would enable him [Fury] to do that,” said Hearn. “So, I don’t knock him for taking the Ngannou fight. It’s not one that I’m interested in, but I guess people will watch it, and I wish him all the best,” said Hearn about Fury.
Hearn fails to realize that mentally Fury is the polar opposite of fighters like Anthony Joshua, and he doesn’t seem to care about legacy stuff. It’s all about money.
