Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk looks to be officially off. The pair of heavyweights were set to meet on April 29th to determine who the undisputed champion is, but the fight is now well and truly dead in the water. It seems the pair couldn’t come to a monetary agreement, particularly on the side of ‘The Gypsy King’.
What Would The Fury vs Usyk Purse Be?
Now that the biggest boxing fight in years looks dead in the water, both Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk look like they will miss out on potentially the biggest boxing purse in history.
Originally the fight was rumoured to be heading to Saudi Arabia, which has become a big player in world championship boxing in recent years. Usyk of course beat Anthony Joshua there last time out for the unified heavyweight titles, with ‘AJ’ also fighting there a few years back in his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr.
Had the fight have taken place in Saudi Arabia, the Fury vs Usyk undisputed heavyweight championship fight could have generated over £600 million in total.
Prior to the fight getting cancelled, promoter Bob Arum was confident the fight would go ahead and that both fighters would earn an insane amount of money:
“Both fighters have agreed to do the fight, the question is the site and we’re talking to the Middle-East because allegedly they’re going to come up with the biggest purse ever in boxing history. And if they do, that’s where the fight is going to go because money is money,” Arum told Sky Sports.
Both fighters were negotiating their own separate site fee with Saudi, with Usyk agreeing his and Fury reportedly not. To the naked eye, it looks like the Usyk vs Fury collapse is entirely down to ‘The Gypsy King’.
RELATED: Comparing The Net Worth’s Of Boxing Heavyweight Champions Tyson Fury & Oleksandr Usyk
What Would Fury & Usyk Earn With The 70/30 Split?
Just weeks ago it looked like the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight championship fight was a certainty to go ahead. Both Usyk and Fury had been going back and forth on social media negotiating the fight.
One clause Fury wanted to add to the contract was that the purse split would be 70/30 in favour of him. This seemed like a completely ridiculous fight percentage and didn’t look fair at all. However, Oleksandr Usyk accepted and seemingly called the Englishman’s bluff.
Hypothetically, if the fight had have gone ahead in Saudi Arabia for all four world title belts with a 70/30 split in favour of Tyson Fury, both men would have earned millions of pounds. If the pot was £600m for the fight, here is what each fighter would have earned.
With a 70% share of the purse, Tyson Fury would have walked away with roughly £420 million. Tyson Fury’s net worth is already astronomical, but adding another £420 million to his career earnings would have made him one of the highest paid boxers of all time. Potentially even one of the highest pair athletes ever.
For the Ukrainian heavyweight champion, with a 30% split of the £600m purse, he could have made a guaranteed £180 million. Again, Oleksandr Usyk’s net worth is too already incredibly high. But add another £180 million to that and he too would have become one of the richest fighters in boxing history.
RELATED: Tyson Fury Vs Oleksandr Usyk: Who Has Earned The Most In Their Last 10 Fights?
Top 6 Biggest Boxing Purses In History
With both Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk missing out on the biggest purse in boxing history, we have decided to take a look at who has secured these astronomical purses. Below is a list of the top six biggest boxing purses of all time.
In terms of the biggest purse in boxing history, that tag belongs to the Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao fight back in 2015. It is reported that their ‘Fight Of The Century’ is the most lucrative fight of all time with over £675m generated for the bout in terms of purses. Mayweather was the ‘A side’ and took over £225 million, with the Philippines man pocketing over £125 million himself. The fight also sold over £300 million worth of buys at the pay-per-view.
Second on the list again includes Floyd Mayweather. This time for his fight against UFC star Conor McGregor. The fight was billed ‘The Money Fight’ with a total of £662.5 million being made. The fight sold over £325 million at the PPV, with Mayweather earning a guaranteed £223.5m and McGregor a tasty £70m for his boxing debut.
Floyd Mayweather is on the list yet again at number three and four of the biggest boxing purses in history. His fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez comes in as the third highest in history, with a purse of over £215 million. Fourth on the list was Mayweather’s fight with Oscar De La Hoya, which generated around £190m.
Mike Tyson is involved in both of the next two biggest purses in boxing history. In at number five is his rematch with Evander Holyfield in 1997, which generated around £146 million. In 2002 and in at number six was Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson which reportedly had a purse of around £135 million.
6 Biggest Purses In Boxing History:
- Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao – £675 million
- Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor – £660 million
- Floyd Mayweather vs Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez – £215 million
- Floyd Mayweather vs Oscar De La Hoya – £190 million
- Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson 2 – £146 million
- Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson – £135 million
Purse information gathered from DAZN
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