Tyson Fury earned a significant sum from his historic undisputed heavyweight title bout loss against Oleksandr Usyk, taking home £45mllion more than the fight winner. The Brit suffered the first defeat of his professional career via a split points decision as the judges called the fight 115-112, 113-114, 114-113.
With the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO belts on the line in Saudi Arabia, the Manchester-born fighter was left on the ropes in Round 9 of the contest after his opponent unleashed a series of jabs, catching him off-guard. From there, the colossus was able to rally to go the distance but Usyk largely took control of proceedings from that point on.
Up until that point, the contest had been an even affair, with Fury weathering an early storm from his foe to bring some parity in fight. However, the final five rounds saw Usyk gain a foothold in the bout, with ‘The Gypsy King’ a wounded animal after being saved by the bell after the onslaught in Round 9.
With Usyk eventually walking away with the spoils, the man he defeated will still earn a significantly higher fee for his appearance after the purse split decided before the fight. In fact, Fury will bank some £80 million, with Usyk earning a lesser sum of £35 million, despite becoming the first unified world champion in the weight division since Lennox Lewis in 2000.
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Previously, promoter Frank Warren has spoken about the 35-year-old’s bankability, with the legendary boxing figure positing that his client is the most lucrative draw in his home country. Addressing Fury’s unique star power, he said: “There is no question he is Britain’s highest earner, by far.”
“He was in the highest-grossing heavyweight fight ever to take place in Las Vegas between him and Deontay Wilder. The fight at Wembley Stadium against Dillian Whyte was the highest-grossing event they’ve ever had. And he sold 60,000 tickets at Tottenham for an open-air show in December against Dereck Chisora – come on, that’s what he is.”
As for what comes next for Fury, the superstar has already expressed his desire for a rematch versus Usyk. He reasoned: “I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority of them, and I believe it was one of those what-can-you-do, one of them… decisions in boxing. We both put on a good fight, best we can do. But make no mistake, I won that fight, in my opinion, and I’ll be back. I’ve got a rematch clause.”
Manager Warren added: “It’s what Tyson wants, the clause in the contract says ‘immediate rematch’,” while Usyk confirmed that he is up for facing off against ‘The Gypsy King’ immediately after what was a memorable contest in Riyadh. The Ukrainian said: “Yeah of course. I am ready for rematch.”
Meanwhile, the newly-crowned unified heavyweight champion of the world appeared overwhelmed by the magnitude of the feat he had pulled off as he was left emotional in the press conference after making history. He paid tribute to his family, his compatriots and his fans, who were in fine voice at the Kingdom Arena, as he said: “I feel good. A lot of people prayed for me, I love you.
“I’m very happy. My people will be very happy I think, it’s a big win, not only for me, it’s a big win for my country, for soldiers who now defend my country. I think my father now is watching over me and is very happy. Dad, I love you. I can, you told me I can.”
