“Do you think 70/30’s fair when a man’s got three belts and you have one?”
Tony Bellew has claimed that Tyson Fury was “taking the p**s” in his crazy demands to fight Oleksandr Usyk in heavyweight unification bout.
Never in the history of boxing has a heavyweight champion held the WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine belt all at once – and we are on the cusp of finally seeing it happen.
Fury currently holds the WBC belt while Usyk holds the other four, so it only makes sense that the two fighters should meet, the winner gets all the belts, and the purse is 50/50 – wrong.
There’s no question that the Gypsy King is the cash cow in this fight, his name is the bigger attraction and despite the fact that he has less belts, he is the draw, so the split should tip in his favour.
55/45 or 60/40 would have been more than fair, but the undefeated champ decided that he was worth more than that, and said he would only take the fight if it was 70/30 in his favour, a truly ridiculous deal that was clearly designed to make Usyk back out of the fight.
However, the Ukrainian is made of tougher stuff than that, and he accepted it straight away, something which Bellew believes is admirable and crazy at the same time.
‼️ Tyson Fury speaks out on the Oleksandr Usyk fight and says he wants a 70/30 purse split in his favour…
[📽️ @Tyson_Fury] pic.twitter.com/CWrdA8ybGg
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) March 10, 2023
“60/40 would have been fair. Do you think 70/30’s fair when a man’s got three belts and you have one? Has it ever happened in the history of boxing before like that?,” he said to iFL TV.
When the interviewer pointed out the star power Fury possesses, Bellew added: “I don’t doubt that for a second, he is the lead name, but 70/30’s taking the p***.” Not only will the bout be a winner-takes-all affair, but both boxers’ undefeated records will be on the line.”
Bellew of course fought Usyk for all of the belts at Cruiserweight, losing to a devastating knockout in the eighth round, and he believes that his former opponent will get the better of Fury.
https://twitter.com/usykaa/status/1634284129620578304
In a chat with talkSPORT, former WBC cruiserweight world champion Bellew insisted Usyk is not being paid his worth for this fight. “Oleksandr Usyk has sold himself well short,” Bellew commented.
“He’s bowed to every demand and I think it’s crazy that he’s done that, but it is what it is. He’s done it for the good of boxing and he’s done it for the bettering of his country and that’s the kind of man he is, I’ve faced him, I know all about him.”
“Tyson Fury’s style has changed over these last few years, ever since he went under the tutelage of SugarHill [Steward] of the Kronk [gym], his style has completely changed, he’s no longer this big awkward fighter, who uses his elusiveness as an advantage.
“He is now someone who is an aggressive counter puncher, he looks to hurt fighters and get rid of them. That change of style will play into Oleksandr Usyk’s hands, it really will, and I’m tipping Oleksandr Usyk to win.”
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