By
Sean Crose
No doubt fans are still burning that the undisputed heavyweight championship fight between WBC and lineal champion Tyson Fury and WBA, IBF and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk fell through before either man signed on the line dotted. What was supposed to be a smooth negotiation process turned into a nightmare which, coupled with the hoped-for undisputed welterweight championship bout between Errol Spence and Terence Crawford, brought the sport of boxing to once again live up to its reputation already far from exceptional. . That said, it appears negotiations between the Fury and Usyk camps are heating up again.
«YES,» Front row reporter quotes Fury promoter Bob Arum as saying (via The Guardian) when asked whether both sides were returning to the negotiating table. «That’s correct. I spoke to a representative of Skills Challenge, who organize these boxing events in Saudi Arabia. We know those people, we’ve worked for them in relation to the Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury fight as far as American television is concerned, so we know who the players are and we had some very interesting talks with them.
Many will no doubt roll their eyes at this latest development. Simply put: Too many big fights have gone past their due date or not come down at all for the boxing public to get excited about something like a simple return to the negotiating table. The fact that Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia were able to cut through the bureaucracy strangling the contemporary fighting game to actually make a superfight a reality last month only makes it worse for the parties who can’t negotiate a similar deal. Fury and Usyk have stated that they want to fight, so maybe things will work themselves out this time around.
All things being equal, a Fury-Usyk matchup is intriguing. Fury is a one-man giant, one who can punch and move as well as anyone in the division. Usyk may be considerably smaller than Fury, but he is said to be the same height as George Foreman in the ring. He is also a master boxer who can hit himself. Fury would likely be the favorite going in, should the fight be fought, but it’s hard to imagine it being much like that. In other words, it’s not too difficult to see a Fury-Usyk match go either way. On top of everything else it would be great for the heavyweight division to once again have an undisputed world champion.