Tyson Fury called out Oleksandr Usyk in a series of posts on Instagram; "Never give up," says Top Rank president Todd DuBoef of a possible undisputed heavyweight title fight taking place later this year; "We'll be guided by Fury," Bob Arum adds
Friday 19 May 2023 14:44, UK
Tyson Fury "makes his own decisions" according to Top Rank president Todd DuBoef, after the WBC heavyweight champion this week went on another social media spree calling out Oleksandr Usyk.
Among a flurry of posts on his Instagram story on Thursday, Fury told the "cowardly" Usyk to "keep running rabbit", and then urged the Ukrainian to accept a 70-30 split with no rematch clauses, adding the fight "only happens in the UK at Wembley".
Fury also called on Top Rank to "get me that fight I'm due" when responding to promoter Bob Arum's claim that the fighter is unsure of his own plans.
"If I were Tyson Fury I would try to get in the ring before the end of the year, but I'm not Tyson Fury," Arum added. "He's a tremendous talent and he knows what he wants more than any of us, and we'll be guided accordingly by him.
"In other words, throwing out names of opponents or dates is ridiculous. It depends on Tyson Fury, and when and where he wants to fight."
DuBoef has echoed those sentiments, insisting Top Rank are working to make the undisputed heavyweight title fight a reality after negotiations broke down earlier this year.
"He makes his own decisions about when he wants to fight, we try to facilitate that," DuBoef told Sky Sports. "For having the best Tyson Fury in the ring, it's about frequency, and - any fighter actually - the more you fight, the more you're out there, you're razor sharp.
"Tyson likes to be razor sharp. That's my impression. He likes to be active. It's unfortunate we couldn't put that Usyk fight together in the timeframe we all wanted to in the spring.
"I think he should be back in the ring but those are his decisions. He always says he's in a better mindset when training and getting ready for a fight, and if it's for Usyk or whatever fight out there I think it's always good to have him. He's such a great entertainer and he's a pleasure to watch. The more he fights the better for everybody."
Usyk's team are currently focused on securing his next fight against another Briton, Daniel Dubois, who is the mandatory challenger for the WBA heavyweight title, one of the three major championships that Usyk holds.
Though Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk told Sky Sports last week the focus is Dubois, he added: "Everything else is possible after Usyk wins."
For Fury-Usyk to materialise, both fighters must actually want it to happen, DuBeof insists.
"As somebody who tries to facilitate these big matches and bring the best fights to the fans, I think it's always our intention of how do we make this happen," he added.
"Expectation of the athletes or the advisors around them is something that derails things, but I always think there's a solution. I don't always think it's a problem, there's always a solution.
"Everybody has to look in the mirror, own what they want to do and their decisions, and if they really want the fight, fights should get made.
"Sometimes people choose not to do that because they don't want the risk or else they're just like, 'You know what, I don't like the guy', and they have a personal thing, and it's a bit disappointing.
"We talk about big matches, they take a natural time and it takes two to want to do it. I think both guys want to do it, and the timing on this one has hit a miss, and that's unfortunate. But never give up, never give up, because fight fans want to see fights and we want to bring them to everybody."
Beyond his claim Fury "doesn't have an idea" about his own plans, American promoter Arum said it is "baloney" to talk about prospective fights and stressed he has "no idea" whether a double-header that would see Fury fight Usyk and Anthony Joshua take on Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia will come to fruition.
"Talks aren't progressed, but there's time for those talks to happen," Arum said, per BoxingNews+. "I hope, particularly since they're throwing out all this money, that this double-header does take place, but I have no idea at all whether it's realistic. No idea."
Though Fury has insisted on Wembley for a potential bout with Usyk, Arum believes only Saudi Arabia is capable of putting up the money both fighters would be after.
"Again, the money that allegedly the Saudis would put up for that fight far exceeds the money that the fight is going to earn any place else in the world," he added.
"Whether it happens, that they put it up and the fight takes place, or they don't put it up and the fighters have to maximise revenue, that will determine where that fight goes.
"We'll have to see. Right now it's all in limbo. All we care about are these fights, we have some great fights that we're doing, like Haney vs Lomachenko, that's a tremendous fight, then we have Mick Conlan fighting for a title against Luis Alberto Lopez, and then we have a great fight with Teofimo Lomez challenging against Josh Taylor.
"Those are fights that have been made and we're prepared to talk about. Everything else is just baloney!
"These fighters are very intelligent, and when they come to a meeting of the minds and make the best deal available for themselves, then we'll announce the fight.
"I'm not optimistic, I'm not pessimistic. It's a crazy question. It's out of my hands, you understand? I don't have the money the Saudis have so I can't talk about the willingness of someone in a country to put up the money that's being talked about. So what do I know? I'm not going to be optimistic or a pessimist."
