Uysk unification bout with Fury 'not likely', Dubois lined-up as mandatory opponent

Oleksandr Usyk is unlikely to face Tyson Fury in a unification bout in his return to the ring, the Ukrainian's promoter Alex Krassyuk admitted.

Negotiations for a clash that would determine the first unified heavyweight champion since 2000 have been ongoing for months but are now on the brink of collapse.

Krassyuk revealed this week that Fury had rejected a 60-40 purse split in favour of the winner, with the WBC champ seeking a much higher fee.

That leaves a proposed April bout between Usyk and Fury looking extremely unlikely, with Krassyuk conceding he does not expect the fight to be scheduled.

"It doesn't look likely that we're going to have a fight on April 29, that's my anticipation," he told iD Boxing.

"I can tell you only from the words that I hear from my negotiation partners – Frank Warren and George Warren – according to their reports, Tyson Fury was asking for too much money.

"Even if Usyk would get zero for the fight, it would still not be sufficient for Tyson to cover his wants. But that's actually the point. Normally when a fighter doesn't want a fight, he asks for something impossible and then it's not happening."

I’m here @Tyson_Fury pic.twitter.com/Q7TpxUILRI

— Alexander Usyk (@usykaa) February 8, 2023

Should a fight against Fury not materialise, Usyk has a three-man waiting list of mandatory opponents – with WBA mandatory Daniel Dubois at the front due to the nature of the governing bodies' rotation system.

If the Brit was ruled out by the injury he sustained in his last fight, IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic is next in line, followed by WBO mandatory Joe Joyce.

Krassyuk expects a mandatory fight to be Usyk's next bout, with the prospect of a clash against Dubois appealing.

"If a Fury fight doesn't happen, which it's not really likely to happen, I think Usyk will have to fight the mandatory. This [Dubois] is actually the next step for Usyk, we have to comply with it," he added.

"It's not the worst fight for the UK. Dubois is English, Usyk fought a couple of times here so he's probably a bit known in the UK. And this is a fight where an Englishman is fighting for three belts at heavyweight. It's a bit more than just a normal heavyweight fight.

"It's still huge. Dubois went through some hell in his last fight, so probably he's recovered, we expect that he did, but we have to see the medicals. It's something to be disclosed within the next couple of days.

"We're still expecting the official decision from Fury. Once we know from Fury officially that the fight is off, then we start working on the mandatory."