FANS fear Tyson Fury will never fight Oleksandr Usyk after his rant about the Ukrainian went viral.
A proposed fight between the pair fell through this week with the two parties unable to a agree a deal.
It is believed Usyk was even prepared to agree a 70-30 purse split in Fury’s favour to make the fight happen.
But according to Usyk’s agent Egis Klimas Fury kept making more demands which made reaching a compromise impossible.
And now quotes from 2020 have emerged which indicate Fury, 34, never wanted to fight the heavyweight champion.
Asked about a potential clash, Fury responded saying: “Usyk ain’t on the list. He’s a no-name, no-one’s interested and it won’t make any money.
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He’s a small cruiserweight. A foreign [who] doesn’t speak good English and nobody’s really interested anyway he’s not set anything alight.
“I want the big fights that people are interested in and that ain’t one of them. He’s still a foreigner in a westernised world.
“The belts are back in the west and they’re going to stay there. Whatever it sounds like the heavyweight champion should be from Britain or America and nowhere else.
“Because maybe it Ukraine he might be a big star but Britain or America ain’t interested in some Ukrainian boxer boxing in Ukraine.
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“The heavyweight champions needs to be from the west and that’s it. That’s how it goes.”
Boxing fans feel Fury is ducking Usyk with some claiming he is scared to face the Ukrainian.
One fan wrote: “How many times did he essentially say I’m just afraid I might lose to #Usyk? Kept repeating that the heavyweight belts have to stay in the West. Huh? If you were to win, that’s precisely where they’d stay. Just say’in.”
Another added: “This statement is the most hilarious excuse I’ve heard for ducking smoke.”
And a third said: “He’s a fraud.”
Another commented: “Scared.”
Usyk, 36, now looks set to instead face mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois, 25, per the WBA’s request.
But former WBC champion Deontay Wilder, 37, has thrown his name into the hat for a mega-fight with the WBA, IBF and WBO champion.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
