Top Rank president Todd DuBoef, who promotes WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, is still hoping to finalize a future deal for an undisputed showdown with IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury is back in the ring next month, when he faces former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on October 28. Fury’s WBC title is not at stake.
Usyk recently banked a knockout victory over mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois.
Earlier in the year, there were serious negotiations to finalize a fight between Fury and Usyk – but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on the financial terms for the rematch.
Should Fury overcome Ngannou without injury, there shouldn’t be any issues with firing up negotiations with Usyk.
“Absolutely,” DuBoef told Sky Sports. “I think we were plagued by timing in this last go-around. Timing from both guys just didn’t match up and we were trying to squeeze this fight in, in the spring, before the Dubois-Usyk mandatory had to happen.
“There were a bunch of circumstances, so the good news is Usyk came out of the fight with Dubois. Some people thought he didn’t look as good as they thought he would, but it was a really good, competitive fight.
“Tyson is going to stay razor-sharp and hopefully is going to be fighting the baddest man on the planet, and they’re going to be going at it. I think, soon after that, it would be appropriate, and the stars should align for timing purposes, that the unification happens very soon.”
Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk told Sky Sports, that they remain hopeful and are willing to sit down at the table with Fury’s team to make the fight happen.
“We’ve always been optimistic and cooperative,” Krassyuk said. “Usyk even accepted a 70/30 split [in Fury’s favour] early [than] this to make it happen.”