During a recent press conference in Tenerife, Tyson Fury was asked about the possibility of facing his rivals Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia later this year.
Fury jokingly remarked that he would celebrate his victory by getting drunk in the town centre. Without realizing that alcohol consumption is prohibited in the Middle Eastern nation. This could come as a surprise to the Gypsy King when he visits Saudi Arabia for the fight against Usyk.
Tyson Fury on Oleksandr Usyk: "I don't think anybody's scared of anybody in a boxing match. The fight's gotta happen, it's gotta happen this year. I just think it's an easy job. I'll hit him, he'll hit the floor, then I'll go out and get drunk in the town centre."
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 15, 2023
“I’d love it to happen, love it to happen. I’d love to fight Oleksandr Usyk and AJ, but I just don’t think they want to fight me,” he said.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on in Saudi Arabia. With all these massive amounts of money being talked about and I think that got the better of him [Usyk]. The temptation of a hundred million or 75 million down the line rather than doing it now [in the UK].”
“I don’t think anybody’s scared of anybody in a boxing match. The fight’s got to happen; it’s got to happen this year,” Fury continued about Usyk. “I just think it’s an easy job. I’ll hit him; he’ll hit the floor. Then I’ll go out and get drunk in the town centre.”
Although Tyson Fury may want to celebrate his victory with a beer, he will have to wait until he returns home. As Saudi Arabian law strictly prohibits the consumption of alcohol.
Violators of this law may face harsh punishments, including public flogging, fines, lengthy imprisonment, and even deportation in some cases.
Tyson Fury finally appears in the ring
According to reports, Saudi promotional company Skills Challenge Entertainment is considering the possibility of hosting fights between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder, as well as Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, in December.
However, George Warren, Fury’s promoter, has stated that they have not yet received a formal offer from the Saudi organizers for the latter match.
In April, there were talks about a potential fight between Tyson and Oleksandr at Wembley Stadium that would involve all four major sanctioning body belts. However, negotiations fell through due to a disagreement over the purse split for their rematch.
Initially, Usyk agreed to Fury’s demand for a 70% share of the prize pot for their first encounter. With the understanding that the split would be reversed for their second fight.
However, according to boxing expert Mike Coppinger, Fury later refused to give Usyk more than a 50-50 split in the event of a defeat, which ultimately led to the fight’s cancellation.
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