Tyson Fury insisted he is not boxing for money - before admitting he will only fight for "obscene" purses just minutes later.
The 'Gypsy King' will return to the ring tomorrow night when he takes on rival Derek Chisora in a WBC voluntary title defence at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. A win for the champion could see him set up a lucrative undisputed title clash with Oleksandr Usyk which is expected to take place in the Middle East next year.
Fury previously made a U-turn on plans to retire despite suggesting it would take a purse of £500million to draw him back into the ring. However he will make a comeback this weekend, but has now made fresh contradictory claims on his motivation for boxing. He first said during an interview with iFL TV: "It's not really about the money or all that s***.
"It was about the money at the beginning but when you have got plenty of money it is more about keeping active and keeping a lifestyle going." Just three minutes later Fury went against his original statement and suggested he would follow the financial incentive to determine his next opponent.
He continued: "Let me tell you all of these men I don't care who it is, wherever I can get the most money for my next fight I will fight even if it is at middleweight. Wherever the biggest money is that is where we will go. All of them are the same they are boxing men with arms and legs. So if someone wants to pay me an obscene amount of money to fight somebody then it's game on.
"I have boxed for absolutely f*** all in the past so I am sure I will box for an obscene amount won't I?" Fury previously stated his motivation for returning to the ring would indeed be to pursue mega-money bouts, including a clash with Usyk, and a fourth fight with Deontay Wilder.
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Fury has previously been called out for making contradicting claims about money in the sport by talkSPORT radio host Simon Jordan, while the heavyweight appeared on the show and discussed a bout with Usyk. He said: "This fight is purely about money, I'm happily retired. I don't need money, I've got plenty of money." Jordan then responded: "Well if it's not about money, why is it about money?"
The 34-year-old then responded: “I'll tell you why, because if they want the big Gypsy King to fight, then they have to pay an obscene amount of money. For the biggest fight in the world, it needs to be the biggest pay packet in the world. However, [Floyd] Mayweather got 400million for [Manny] Pacquiao. I want 500million for Usyk. They’ve got the money."
