LONDON, 22 Mar. (PA Media/dpa/EP) –
The long-awaited fight between the British boxer Tyson Fury and the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk for the unification of the heavyweight crowns and scheduled for the end of April at Wembley will not finally take place after the lack of agreement between the parties.
Talks between the two sides have been taking place in recent months and the official announcement of a showdown on April 29 seemed close. However, this fight has been definitively ruled out, according to the PA news agency.
WBC champion Fury challenged Usyk, who holds the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, following his victory over Derek Chisora last December in the English capital. ‘Top Rank’ promoter Bob Arum revealed weeks later that a deal had been reached for a unification bout and negotiations continued, with much back and forth between the two heavyweights on social media, and On March 10, the Ukrainian accepted a 70-30 purse deal, on the condition that his rival donate one million Ukraine to help his efforts in the war against Russia.
The WBA also revealed that it had received confirmation that an agreement had been reached for the fight, but that it has been frustrated. According to PA, it has not been possible to reach a definitive agreement between the two parties, so Usyk, who beat Anthony Joshua in August, will now focus on the mandatory defense against fellow British Daniel Dubois of the WBA belt.