Oleksandr Usyk is unlikely to face Tyson Fury in a unification bout upon his return to the ring, Ukrainian promoter Alex Krassyuk admitted.
Negotiations over a clash that would determine who would become the first unified heavyweight champion since 2000 have been going on for months, but are now on the brink of collapse.
Krassyuk revealed this week that Fury rejected a 60-40 purse split in favor of the winner, with the WBC champion seeking a much higher fee.
That makes a proposed fight between Usyk and Fury in April seem extremely unlikely, with Krassyuk admitting he doesn’t expect the fight to be scheduled.
“It doesn’t look like we’re going to fight on April 29, that’s my expectation,” he told iD Boxing.
“I can only tell you from the words I hear from my negotiating partners – Frank Warren and George Warren – according to their reports, Tyson Fury asked too much money.
“Even if Usyk got zero for the fight, it still wouldn’t be enough for Tyson to cover his needs. But that’s really the point. Normally, if a fighter doesn’t want a fight, he’s asking for something impossible and then it didn’t happen.”
Should a fight against Fury fail to materialize, Usyk has a three-man waiting list of mandatory opponents – with WBA mandatory Daniel Dubois at the front due to the nature of the governing bodies rotation system.
If the Brit was ruled out by the injury he suffered in his last fight, IBF mandate Filip Hrgovic is next in line, followed by WBO mandate Joe Joyce.
Krassyuk expects a mandatory fight to be Usyk’s next fight, with the prospect of a showdown against Dubois.
“If a Fury fight doesn’t happen, which isn’t really likely, I think Usyk will have to fight the mandatory fight. This [Dubois] is actually the next step for Usyk, we have to comply,” he added.
“It’s not the worst fight for the UK. Dubois is English, Usyk has fought here a few times so he’s probably a bit known in the UK. And this is a fight where an Englishman is fighting for three belts at heavyweight. It is a bit more than just a normal heavyweight fight.
“It’s still huge. Dubois went through hell in his last fight, so he probably recovered.
“We are still waiting for the official decision from Fury. As soon as we officially know from Fury that the fight is over, we will get started with the mandatory one.”