Tyson Fury has set a seven-day deadline to arrange a unification fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk retained his WBA (super), IBF, WBO and IBO belts after winning his rematch with Anthony Joshua on Saturday, while Fury, who recently retired after beating Dillian Whyte in April, holds the belt WBC. Promoter Frank Warren has said a fight with Fury is “the only fight” Usyk wants and has given Fury until September 1 to arrange it.
He posted on social media: “For all these suitors who want to fight I’ll give you seven days until September 1st to get the money, if not thank you very much, it’s been great, I’m retired.
“All offers submitted must be in writing to my attorney with proof of background, so let the games begin.”
Fury, who said he was walking away from boxing less than a fortnight ago, said in an interview with TalkSport that he would want £500m to make the Usyk fight happen. After the Ukrainian beat Joshua in Saudi Arabia at the weekend, Warren said: “The challenge will be to meet the financial expectations of both guys. It has to be a lot bigger than that [Usyk v Joshua II] because you have two undisputed fighters and the first time all four belts have been on the line.
“It’s a unique situation and what’s added is that they’re both unbeaten, which is quite unusual.”
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Should the fight go ahead, the winner would become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999-2000, just the sixth all-time and the first in the four-belt era following the rise of the OMB.