Tyson Fury needs to be mindful of where his fortune comes from, says the promoter of unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Alexander Krassyuk was not shy about criticizing Fury earlier this week at a press conference to announce Usyk’s title defense against Daniel Dubois on Aug. 26 in Poland. Usyk was originally in talks for most of the past year to fight Fury, who holds the WBC title, for the undisputed heavyweight championship but the two sides were unable to strike a deal—much to the chagrin and disappointment of boxing fans.
On Tuesday, Fury announced he would be fighting former UFC champion—but boxing novice— Francis Ngannou in a sanctioned boxing match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 28. Fury and Usyk were discussing plans to meet in the ring at the end of the year in Saudi Arabia, as part of a card that would also feature Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder in a separate bout, but it is not clear what the status of that event is with this latest development. (Joshua also has a scheduled fight with Dillian Whyte on Aug. 12 in London).
In an interview, Krassyuk lambasted Fury, claiming the Manchester native was ducking Usyk and likening that to cheating the fans who have helped bolster Fury’s name—and wallet—over the years. Krassyuk said Fury is now at risk of doing irreparable damage to his reputation.
“Tyson Fury has become famous, rich, recognized, only for one reason and the reason is because boxing fans put hands in their pockets and spend money on his fights,” Krassyuk told Seconds Out. “It means buying pay-per-views, it means buying tickets, buying merchandise, whatever. So the money that Tyson Fury has in his account is the money that comes from fans’ pockets. And showing the disrespect to the fans, like he does, fans want something in return. And the thing they want in return is the big fight, and Tyson is not delivering. He’s not paying back.
“This is disrespectful to his fans, and this is what can completely destroy Tyson’s image. [Fury’s promoter] Frank Warren used to say that there’s so much hate for Tyson Fury because Usyk and his team came and showed up and tried to put pressure, dirty pressure—no, that’s not the reason. This is the reason. He’s disrespectful to his fans, that’s the only reason.”
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.