Oleksandr Usyk has verbally agreed to fight Tyson Fury on a 70/30 split in Fury’s favour on the condition that ‘The Gypsy King’ donates £1m to Ukraine.
Both boxers have reached an “agreement” for an undisputed heavyweight clash, the World Boxing Association has confirmed.
The announcement from one of the sport’s major sanctioning bodies came after negotiations over a slated April 29 bout at Wembley had played out on social media between the pair, who currently hold the division’s four titles between them.
The fight had looked in serious doubt earlier on Friday after WBC champion Fury suggested Usyk should only get 30 per cent of the fight purse.
However, on Friday evening WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Usyk posted a response on social media, agreeing to Fury’s demands on the condition that the Brit donates £1 million to Ukraine.
Then came the WBA statement, which said: “WBA President Gilberto Mendoza received confirmation from Usyk and Fury’s teams that there is an agreement to make the unification fight.
“They request time to work on the contracts to close the deal.”
It has yet to be confirmed whether Fury has agreed to make the proposed donation to Usyk’s native Ukraine, which has been under attack from Russia since Vladimir Putin launched an invasion in February 2022.
Earlier on Friday, Fury had said: “I see all this talk of boxing fights. They want 50 per cent, Usyk and all this ‘Tyson is being greedy.’
“Where I’m standing, Usyk, you and your team are worth 30 per cent. You either take it, or you leave it, and if you don’t want it, go fight Daniel Dubois at The Copperbox and get a few million dollars.
Tyson Fury defended his WBC belt by stopping Derek Chisora in December
“You want to make some real money, come and fight ‘The Gypsy King’.
“But I will say, for every day from today that you linger and mess around, I’m going to deduct one per cent from the 30 per cent.
“Every day, I’m going to deduct one per cent until you take it, and if you don’t take it, go fight Dubois for $2 million. No problem.
“But how in the world did you ever offer me a deal? Not possible. Tick tock, tick tock.”
Usyk responded, saying: “Hey, ‘greedy belly’, I accept your offer. 70/30 split the fight with you on April 29 in Wembley.
“But you will promise to donate £1million to Ukraine immediately after the fight. And for every day of your delay you will pay 1 per cent from your purse to Ukrainian people.”
Fury then posted another video message angrily urging Usyk to “sign the contract”.
Alex Krassyuk, who represents Usyk, claimed Fury rejected their latest offer where the winner would receive 60 per cent of the purse, and questioned whether the WBC champion actually wants the fight.
Krassyuk told iD Boxing: “I can only tell you from the words I hear from my negotiators, my partners Frank and George Warren. According to their reports, Tyson Fury was asking for too much money.
“Even if Usyk would get zero for the fight, it would still not be sufficient for Tyson to cover his [demands].
