Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk targeted for Wembley Stadium on April 29th
The two fighters were meant to collide in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but the megafight will take place in London if both sides manage to get to a deal.
In boxing, negotiations to make a fight possible are often difficult and long, especially when it comes to trying to make a huge fight, and the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk talks have proven to be a great example of that.
Both sides have been trying to close a deal for several weeks now, and the venue of the fight was one of the main issues to get resolved.
While Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, seemed the most likely location to hold the undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO heavyweight world title fight, things were turned upside down and Wembley, in London, is the place that will host the event.
The 95,000-seat stadium has finally been chosen after the Saudi’s construction of the new arena in Jeddah won’t be ready in time for April 29th, which is the date set for the showdown.
Closer to a Fury-Usyk fight deal?
While it may seem that setting the place for the potential match could be a step forward toward getting to a deal, it may not be the case, at least in this case.
The change of location may bring more problems to the table, as both fighters were expecting to receive huge amounts of money for fighting in Saudi Arabia and will probably want to renegotiate the conditions, and Usyk already reached a deal to fight in Jeddah.
Moreover, since conversations are still ongoing and The Cat already negotiated his own deal, the Saudis could still come up with another stadium to stage the bout.
The deadline for the decision is expected to be this week. If Usyk doesn’t agree with the new terms and conditions, the Gipsy King will fight a replacement opponent on April 29th.
In that scenario, Fury’s next opponent will be decided by the WBC, while the Ukrainian star could fight WBA mandatory Daniel Dubois next.