ANY idea of a blockbuster heavyweight boxing bonanza happening in Saudi Arabia later this year could be stopped by one man, according to Alex Krassyuk.
The promoter of TBRB Champion Oleksandr Usyk told BT Sport’s Chatterbox that three of the parties involved are reasonable to deal with, leaving a more complicated fourth.
Usyk, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder have all been linked to a money-spinning event in the Middle East which would see Usyk fight Fury and Joshua fight Wilder and the winners fighting one another next year. Krassyuk would not be drawn on whether it will happen but was asked if ‘The Gypsy King’ could prove to be the stumbling block.
“Anthony Joshua is not a very complicated person to deal with,” he began. “Deontay Wilder and Shelley Finkel is a very reasonable person. We got in touch with him (Finkel) a couple of weeks ago, first time in 10 years, and we had quite a long conversation. I don’t think it would be a big challenge to make any deal with him. Oleksandr Usyk and his team are known to be the easiest people to deal with in the world of boxing. So, (there is) only one thing still pending and it’s a complex person, complex personality who would go back and forth, play his games, try to squeeze as much money as possible. That’s the reason Usyk called him ‘greedy belly’.”
Boxing News understands talks are underway between the various parties for what would be one of the biggest cards in the sport’s history. But, for now, Usyk and his team are concentrating on his next opponent, Daniel Dubois.
Krassyuk revealed that three locations are in the running to stage the contest and they are Saudi Arabia, Poland, and Great Britain. Should Usyk emerge victorious, by that time we will know if boxing fans will be treated to the mammoth event featuring the best four boxers in the heavyweight division.
Like all fight fans, Krassyuk says he would love to see Usyk against Fury, but served a word of caution to the vociferous Brit and any long-lasting legacy he wants to leave behind.
“Yes, he has the right to do things that he wants to do but at the end of the day he is a professional boxer, and his main assignment is to perform for the boxing fans,” Krassyuk said. “So, that is why I think if this fight does not take place that would be one of the biggest mistakes that Tyson Fury could ever make in his professional boxing career.”
