Fighting is all about rivalries. Fans are always more excited for the bouts which feature two fighters who have beef with each other. Some of the biggest fights in history are between two bitter rivals. Retired heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury feels as if he can be the perfect foe for Oleksandr Usyk to create history.
Usyk had two of the biggest wins of his career recently. In 2021, He defeated Anthony Joshua in his backyard to capture the WBA (Super), IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight belts. But you never truly beat a champion unless you beat him twice. Usyk did that earlier this month on August 20th. He defeated Joshua via a split decision to retain the belts.
Following the bout, the Ukrainian fighter expressed his interest in fighting another big UK star, Tyson Fury. Despite being retired, The Gypsy King immediately jumped on the opportunity to let the fans know that he is open to coming back. Recently, he made a great argument as to why Usyk needs to fight him in order to build a legacy.
He used the UFC rivalry between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov as examples to make his point.
“This idiot needs me, some foreigner who no one can say his name… Like McGregor did with Khabib. Nobody knew who the f**k Khabib was until he fought McGregor. Nobody knew who these guys were until they fight the legend in the game. I don’t mind chucking him a bone, but I’m not gonna chuck him the full dog’s home.” (h/t The MacLife)
Although Fury’s claims about Khabib being a complete unknown are not accurate, he is right about Conor McGregor‘s role in Khabib’s rise. Before their fight at UFC 229, Khabib was more popular amongst the hardcore fans. But their rivalry shot The Eagle‘s star power into orbit. The event is still the highest-selling PPV in UFC history with 2.4 million buys.
Tyson Fury wants $500 million to fight Oleksandr Usyk
Despite his statements about fighting Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury is still retired. So all the speculation of Fury stepping back in the ring is pointless. His last fight was against Dillian Whyte in April of this year. Although he pretty much confirmed he is going to fight Francis Ngannou in a mixed-rules event, there is yet to be any development on it.
Tyson Fury speaks out with talks underway for the Oleksandr Usyk undisputed fight… pic.twitter.com/q9OQTUo46O
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) August 23, 2022
However, Fury is actively putting fuel to the fire of the speculation, that he is coming out of retirement to fight Usyk. He even has a figure in his mind. Following Usyk’s win over Joshua, Fury stated that he will contemplate fighting Oleksandr Usyk for half a billion dollars ($500 million). Although it does seem like an unrealistic sum of money to ask for, the magnitude of the fight may just warrant it.
Do you think Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk will happen? If it does, who do you think wins? Let us know in the comments down below.
