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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Ben Davies

Tyson Fury blames Anthony Joshua’s "greed" for collapse of Oleksandr Usyk fight

Tyson Fury has blamed rival Anthony Joshua's "greed" for the collapse of a potential undisputed title clash with Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury was last year ordered to face Dillian Whyte in a defence of his WBC title but was then offered the chance to fight in an undisputed clash.

That relied on Joshua accepting a step-aside of £15million to give up his shot at avenging his defeat by Usyk.

But talks collapsed with Fury now set to take on Whyte while Joshua will attempt to win back his belts from Usyk.

And Fury made it clear who he blames for the situation, tweeting: "It's called greed" in response to a social media post which explained the situation.

Fury was set to face Whyte after being ordered to defend his title against the 'Body Snatcher' who has waited since 2017 to secure a title shot.

Tyson Fury is now set to face Dillian Whyte in a mandatory defence (Frank Micelotta/Fox Sports/Pictu/REX/Shutterstock)

However the WBC ordered a purse split of 80 per cent in favour of the champion which led Whyte to appeal and take the case to arbitration.

This caused negotiations to stall and meant no deal could be reached between the teams with the fight destined for purse bids.

After purse bids were initially ordered, Fury's promoter Arum revealed that talks were still continuing for Fury to face Usyk in the Middle East with Joshua stepping aside from a potential rematch.

Joshua immediately activated his rematch clause in the aftermath of defeat to Usyk so would require a step-aside fee to allow for the undisputed fight to take place, and would target the winner afterwards.

Purse bids for Fury's defence against Whyte were then delayed while the arbitration continued alongside talks with Usyk and Joshua.

Joshua was willing to accept an offer of £15million to step-aside and allow the fight to take place which Joshua furiously dismissed on social media.

Fury continued his pursuit of a fight with Usyk and made mocking messages online branding his rivals "bums" and "cowards" for not resolving the situation.

Who would you rather see face Oleksandr Usyk - Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua? Let us know in the comments section below

The 'Gypsy King' later released a video which indicated he would now face Whyte leading to suspicion that Joshua had opted against signing any agreement to step-aside.

The champion also claimed that Joshua and his team had rejected a package worth $90 million and criticised him for not stepping-aside.

However Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn and Usyk's manager Egis Klimas heaped blame of the collapse on Fury with Hearn claiming that Fury wanted a tune-up fight before facing Usyk later this year which would cause further hold-up.

Purse bids are now expected to take place today for the clash between Whyte and Joshua with Hearn's Matchroom Boxing and Arum's Top Rank ready to make offers to stage the clash.

Joshua is now set to face Usyk in a rematch with Hearn claiming terms are virtually "agreed" with just small details such as a date and venue needing to be determined with Usyk's camp.

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