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Frank Warren, co-promoter for WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, has fired back at some of the recent claims that were made by rival promoter Eddie Hearn.
In a recent interview, Hearn made a claim that Fury wanted no part of a full division unification with Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA titles.
For weeks, there were ongoing discussions to make a full division unification between Fury and Usyk – with investors in the Middle East looking to secure the high-stakes unification.
The deal would involve Anthony Joshua receiving a step-aside fee to move away from his contracted rematch with Usyk. The amount, reportedly, was $15 million.
On the other side, Dillian Whyte would have to receive a step-aside, reportedly $5 million, to move away from his mandatory fight with Fury.
However, last Thursday it was confirmed that Fury-Usyk was dead in the water.
Fury moved forward with an ordered purse bid for his mandatory fight with Whyte – and Warren secured the promotional rights with a record-breaking bid of $42 million.
Fury vs. Whyte is being targeted to take place on April 23.
According to Warren, the Fury vs. Usyk negotiations fell apart when Joshua requested an additional $5 million.
“It’s all irrelevant and I don’t particularly care what Eddie Hearn said. Eddie Hearn says lots of things and he’s part of the problem why these things don’t get over the line,” Warren told Talk Sport.
“A year ago when we were trying to put together a fight between Joshua and Tyson, every week he was saying, ‘It’s done, the contracts are being issued,’ despite the fact we all signed an agreement not to make any statements until it was done.
“As far as Tyson was concerned, it dragged on. When Joshua asked for an extra $5 million, he said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and that was it. He said, ‘I’m not interested, he’s too greedy,’ and that was enough. He’s a champion – Tyson’s not beholden to Anthony Joshua. Him and Usyk wanted to get it on, both of them wanted to get it on. But you had two people in the middle – one was suing the WBC [in Whyte] and the other one was asking for more and more money.”