Regardless of who had won, as soon as the fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua was over, the logical question arose: when would the winner face Tyson Fury?
It didn’t matter that the ‘Gypsy King” had announced his retirement, because the clash of kings is something boxing needs.
Immediately, the Ukrainian challenged the reigning WBC champion, who replied that he is willing to step into the ring with him, but only with a big cheque in front of him.
The heavyweight division has not had an undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis and, every time the possibility arises, the failure to reach an agreement between promoters manages to prevent a fight.
It never seems like a good time and there is never enough money at stake.
In recent years boxing fans have seen Joshua vs Wilder and AJ vs Fury slip away.
Now the ‘Gypsy King’s’ team says it is in talks to get a fight with a purse of more than 100 million euros, which Usyk and Joshua received in their re-match.
Given the scale of a unification bout, the boxers and their respective teams are looking to split 150 million euros.
According to the British newspaper the Daily Mail, the fight would take place on December 17 in Saudi Arabia, the night before the World Cup final in Qatar.
The leading bidder for the biggest boxing match in recent years is Saudi Arabia.
Following last Saturday’s bout in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s sports minister said: “We are very interested in the undisputed heavyweight title fight. We would be interested in holding it in the city of Riyadh.”
Should the December 17 date not work out, the event would likely be postponed for a few months.
