Promoter Eddie HearnMatchroom Boxing) recently told his version of the protracted negotiations over the organization of the fight for the title of absolute heavyweight champion between British Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) and Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs). He believes that all this is due to his VIP client, former British division champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) – allegedly it is he who attracts investors there most of all.
But is it really so?
Opinion British columnist Adam Catterall: “What did you want to hear from Hearn? He is Joshua’s man. But I still will not say that his words do not make sense. After all, AJ remains a commercial colossus. And he still can make local investors as generous as possible.”
Catterall believes that the current situation carries reputational risks for Fury: “He will not look very good if the two fights that he announced – against Usyk and last year with Joshua – do not take place. And I’m sure that now everything depends solely on him. The best must fight the best. Dot”.
Catterall speculated about whether Fury and Usyk “can garner over 1 million pay-per-views? If so, then this is already a huge fight. After all, look at the current state of affairs. Who last collected over a million? I would really like this fight to collect at least 1 million PPV. But not sure if it’s real. After all, Fury never even came close to that figure. Even when he fought Deontay Wilder. Yes, I remember about time zones. But even in Britain, he never came close to selling a million. The only one in Britain who has managed to overcome this mark is precisely Joshua.
So why won’t Saudi Arabia accept the Usyk-Fury fight? There is a Davis version.
A little earlier, the British side made it clear that negotiations with the Ukrainian were more difficult than they expected. Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum even said that “Krasyuk should shut up.” He does not hide much that he would prefer to avoid Fury’s fight with the Ukrainian champion: “But if Usyk left …”
