Champions showed ability to negotiate

The question of whether the fight for the status of the absolute world heavyweight champion between Tyson Fury and Alexander Usik will take place or not in the near future seems to have been finally resolved. Promoter Bob Arum announced an agreement reached by representatives of the British and Ukrainian boxers regarding the most anticipated fight of recent years in professional boxing. It should take place early next year either in London or, in keeping with the latest trend, in the bountiful Middle East region.

The fact that Tyson Fury and Alexander Usyk reached an agreement: the next fight for them will be a duel with each other, in an interview Sky Sports said promoter Bob Arum, whose company Top Rank works with the British athlete. “They want this fight, so there won’t be much fuss,” Arum added, saying when an official contract for the match could be signed.

This is very important news for professional boxing, as this is perhaps the most anticipated event in the form in recent years. It is doomed to cause a huge stir, if only because of its status. Usyk, who owns the belts of the International Boxing Federation (IBF), the World Boxing Association (WBA) and the World Boxing Organization (WBO), and the holder of the World Boxing Council (WBC) belt Tyson Fury should compete for the title of absolute world champion. Fury’s great compatriot Lennox Lewis was the last owner of it two decades ago.

The discussion of the details of the duel between the two extremely popular rivals started, in fact, a few months ago – right after Oleksandr Usyk defeated the former category king Anthony Joshua for the second time in a row in August, retaining all his regalia.

Tyson Fury repeatedly made his statements believe that he could actually refuse the fight, despite the guaranteed gigantic fee, but in the end, after defeating Derek Chisora ​​in early December, he confirmed that he was ready to fight Usyk. True, there were signs that hinted that the battle could be postponed once again. These include, for example, the fact that two structures at once – IBF and WBA – sanctioned fights with Usyk for their official contenders – Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois. However, Bob Arum’s statements killed the intrigue in this sense. Moreover, Arum specifically emphasized that neither Tyson Fury nor Oleksandr Usyk would have any “intermediate” fights, and their meeting would take place very soon – in the “next four months”.

The intrigue remains with the venue of the fight. Bob Arum said that he would like to be hosted by the main UK stadium – London’s Wembley, which in this century quite often turns into an arena for top boxing matches with a capacity of more than 90 thousand people. “That would be real crazy,” added the promoter.

But there is another option: Bob Arum called it “Middle Eastern.” It is in line with the current trend. The fact is that the states located in the region are extremely active in attracting various major international competitions, including those in the field of martial arts. And if, for example, in the UAE they rely on mixed martial arts (in Abu Dhabi, tournaments of the main UFC promotion genre are often held), then Saudi Arabia has chosen professional boxing. Anthony Joshua has already fought twice in this country. In 2019, he met with the American Andy Ruiz there, and in 2022, with Oleksandr Usyk. At the same time, according to the data Daily MailSaudi investors paid $ 120 million for the right to re-match the British with the Ukrainian. Two-thirds of this amount went to pay the fees of the fighters.

Actually, Bob Arum did not hide that he was considering the “Middle East option” primarily for financial reasons. “Boxers have relatively short careers and money matters. So, if there is a real offer, we will take it into account, ”he explained, adding that, according to his forecasts, by the end of this year, a contract for the fight between Tyson Fury and Alexander Usik could be concluded.

Alexey Dospekhov