Top Rank promoter Bob Arum confirmed today that Tyson Fury will make in excess of $100 million for his fights in Saudi Arabia against Francis Ngannou on October 28th and IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in December.
With the money Fury is getting for his next two fights, you have to imagine that Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn & Deontay Wilder are green with envy, as they had hoped to put together a massive money fight with the Saudis in January and the deal never came through for them.
Fury’s fight with Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs), which was announced today, is tentative for December. Arum says the official date won’t be revealed until after his October 28th fight against Ngannou because he could get injured in that contest, which makes it impossible to return in December.
Provided that Fury gets through his fight with Ngannou in one piece, he’ll face Usyk in December for the undisputed championship, with the IBF, WBA, WBC & WBO heavyweight titles at stake. The winner will hold all the belts and could then look to take on the other big names in the division.
Most boxing fans believe the 6’9″ Fury will be too big for the former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyuk, but you can’t rule out an upset. Fury hasn’t fought a good fighter in years, and he’s put on a lot of weight.
The style that Fury taught to him by his American trainer Sugarhill Steward, which involves a lot of mauling, would not work against a mobile heavyweight that doesn’t stand in front of him, like Usyk.
That’s an enormous amount of money that WBC champion Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) is getting from the Saudia, especially given that he hasn’t fought a quality heavyweight in two years since his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder in October 2021.
In Fury’s last two fights, he’s had easy title defenses against a pair of fringe-level fighters, 39-year-old Dereck Chisora & Dillian Whyte.
“Tyson has to take care of business on October 28th, when he fights Ngannou, and Then we’re off to the races with the unified heavyweight championship,” said Bob Arum to the media today, talking about Tyson Fury’s fight against Francis Ngannou on October 28th, followed by a tentative fight against IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in December in Saudi Arabia.
“Obviously, the date is not going to be confirmed until after October 28th because what happens if Tyson gets busted up or hurts his hand?
“I think he’s going to make a lot more. I don’t know the number, but it’s a lot more than $100 [million],” said Arum about how much Fury is going to make for his fights with Ngannou & Usyk.
