Champions are rushed to the ring – Newspaper Kommersant No. 47 (7492) of 03/21/2023

In the process of organizing the most anticipated fight of the year – for the undisputed world heavyweight title between British Tyson Fury and Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk – there was an unexpected turn. The President of the World Boxing Association (WBA), whose title Usyk owns, Gilberto Mendoza threatened that if the parties delaying the conclusion of the contract did not sign it before April 1, instead of this match, Usyk would have a much less status duel with the official challenger according to the structure , another Briton Daniel Dubois. However, it is unlikely that Dubois, who works with the same promotional company as his famous compatriot, will insist on fulfilling the terms of the ultimatum.

Last weekend, the World Boxing Association released a statement from its president, Gilberto Mendoza, dedicated to, apparently, the most anticipated fight of this year. In it, the title of absolute world heavyweight champion should be played by two extremely popular fighters – the owner of the belt of the World Boxing Council (WBC) Briton Tyson Fury and the owner of the other three – the WBA, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) – Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk. This match is destined to generate huge interest and bring income comparable to it.

Gilberto Mendoza said in a statement that his structure has set a deadline of April 1 for boxers to sign an official contract for the fight.

If the parties do not meet the deadline, the WBA threatens to hold a much less significant duel between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury’s compatriot Daniel Dubois, who has the status of a contender according to the organization.

Such ultimatums are not uncommon in boxing. But they are put forward in situations where there are reasons to think that the fighters are avoiding a meeting or deliberately delaying negotiations.

The appearance of Gilberto Mendoza’s ultimatum is made absolutely unexpected by the fact that a week and a half ago, the match for the title of absolute world champion seemed to be actually agreed upon. Moreover, it was Mendoza who told ESPN, which owns the rights to broadcast the fight in the United States, that Tyson Fury and Alexander Usyk agreed with each other. Moreover, the TV channel confidently named the date and place of the battle – April 29, London’s Wembley Stadium.

The version was also confirmed by the active communication of the British and Ukrainian boxers in social networks. Both made it clear that they were determined to perform, despite the fact that the financial conditions that Fury insisted on seemed rather strange. We are talking about the division of the prize fund between the two champions in the proportion of 70 to 30 in his favor. In boxing, as a rule, only obvious outsiders, who are an order of magnitude inferior to their opponent in fame, agree to such a significant difference.

Nevertheless, Usyk, calling the Briton a “greedy belly”, said that he was ready to accept such a distribution of fees, adding only that Fury should donate £1 million to Ukraine “immediately after the fight.”

Gilberto Mendoza’s statement was made public about a day after Oleksandr Usyk’s next post in connection with the battle. It said that the details of the contract offered by his side were sent to Tyson Fury, and also that “the ball is on his side” and “the clock is ticking.”

At the same time, it is not a fact that the formally tough deadline set by the WBA means that, having overstayed it, the champions will disrupt the most important fight. The thing is that there is reason to believe that Daniel Dubois will not require the structure to exercise his right to fight Oleksandr Usyk. The same promotional company, Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, works with Dubois as with Tyson Fury. And in such conflicts, promoters usually have a decisive influence on the boxers.

Alexey Dospekhov