Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte | BT PPV - 23 April 2022

[jimmystone]

Paying Joshua step aside isn't the right move. He'd bottle the rematch for free at this point, I reckon and the public know that. His stock is crushed unless he beats Usyk. Get the rematch done. Try your best and end your career with some dignity.

Fury should use the overrated Whyte as a warm up, pay him a decent percentage, bang him out, and face the Usyk v Joshua winner.

Tyson needs to get over the Joshua fight for now. He's got it into his head it's the biggest pay day and he's right but trying to secure that fight by backing yourself against Usyk and paying Joshua for the privilege of you sorting things out for him has banana skin written all over it.

[Dioufy]

I kinda think Joshua’s thought process at the moment is that he stands a better chance of beating Fury than Usyk. Fury will likely beat Usyk but I give Joshua a 30% chance of beating Fury whereas I give him 5% vs Usyk.
Weird how it works but I think it’s a good move to take 15mil and probably end up fighting Fury for all 4 belts.
Problem is… will the WBC start ghosting Whyte? What the hell happens to him?
Contracted a shot after Fury/Usyk, Fury/Joshua and then Fury/Joshua II?
He’s getting shafted and I’m not even gutted for him.

[joshj909]

AJ has come out and denied the reports.

My first thoughts were, realistically, how much does Fury Vs Usyk make? £15m would be a very large chunk of that. He also runs the risk of never fighting the winner if Fury wins.

[funso banjo baby]

In an ideal world Fury would meet Usyk

AJ would fight Whyte with the winner meeting either fury or Usyk for the decider, and one of the biggest fights of all time?

Ideal outcomes would be fury beating Usyk as the only dull fight would be AJ v Usyk 2

[tonyevs]

AJ has come out and denied the reports.

My first thoughts were, realistically, how much does Fury Vs Usyk make? £15m would be a very large chunk of that. He also runs the risk of never fighting the winner if Fury wins.

In the crazy covid times we in where people have gone mad over big roll - it's just as crazy to suggest a Fury v Usyk fight would be anything other than a messy nonspectator affair l.
Fury is typically unexciting to watch, as is Usyk.

Of course I'd like to see them square off. But give us Fury v Whyte first

[jamesmcdonnell]

AJ has come out and denied the reports.

My first thoughts were, realistically, how much does Fury Vs Usyk make? £15m would be a very large chunk of that. He also runs the risk of never fighting the winner if Fury wins.

In the crazy covid times we in where people have gone mad over big roll - it's just as crazy to suggest a Fury v Usyk fight would be anything other than a messy nonspectator affair l.
Fury is typically unexciting to watch, as is Usyk.

Of course I'd like to see them square off. But give us Fury v Whyte first

I'd be surprised if it turned into a barnburner, Fury is likely to want to use his height and reach advantages to nullify Usyk, whilst Usyk will be trying to channel his inner holyfield to get in and out of range quickly and set traps.

I cannot see Fury being as sloppy as he was against Wilder, thought there's a chance he figures there's nothing Usyk can do to hurt him, and just turns it into a sloppy affair.

[daz74]

AJ wants revenge, he won’t step aside. Whyte wants the green belt, he won’t step aside. But Fury might swerve Whyte, leaving Whyte to face someone else for the wbc belt …… ?

[595179]

AJ wants revenge, he won’t step aside. Whyte wants the green belt, he won’t step aside. But Fury might swerve Whyte, leaving Whyte to face someone else for the wbc belt …… ?

Yep.

[mickey1975]

Nobody on here has a clue what's going on. And i include myself in that.

[tonyevs]

AJ has come out and denied the reports.

My first thoughts were, realistically, how much does Fury Vs Usyk make? £15m would be a very large chunk of that. He also runs the risk of never fighting the winner if Fury wins.

In the crazy covid times we in where people have gone mad over big roll - it's just as crazy to suggest a Fury v Usyk fight would be anything other than a messy nonspectator affair l.
Fury is typically unexciting to watch, as is Usyk.

Of course I'd like to see them square off. But give us Fury v Whyte first

I'd be surprised if it turned into a barnburner, Fury is likely to want to use his height and reach advantages to nullify Usyk, whilst Usyk will be trying to channel his inner holyfield to get in and out of range quickly and set traps.

I cannot see Fury being as sloppy as he was against Wilder, thought there's a chance he figures there's nothing Usyk can do to hurt him, and just turns it into a sloppy affair.

The quality and repertoire of Fury`s offence is limited to a two punch combo; typically a left right .. followed by him grabbing hold and laying on the other guy. Usyk will avoid getting too close for too long to avoid Fury grabbing him ... it wont be good to watch. Even when cut badly against Wallin Fury couldn`t sustain any urgency in his work.

The Wallin fight shows how Usyk would most likely beat Fury. Usyk is no doubt a better version of Wallin.

We don`t want to see Fury and Usyk agree to fight, then wait until summer to get it .. then spring 2023 for the rematch .. then possibly another rematch between the two winter of 2023.

Lets have Fury v Whyte to really see if the Wilder wins have flattered Fury ..
Let Usyk and Joshua rematch to get that out of the way ... then make the winner of those two against each other. That way we get to see 3 different match ups.

[dookus]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/60113729

Carefully expressed by Joshua:

The 32-year-old Joshua said: "You know what's bad about all these interviews I see?

"I see certain interviews that quote what I said, and I think to myself: 'I ain't done no interviews. Where did this person get this information from?'

"I'm hearing people saying, 'AJ accepts £15m to step aside'. I ain't signed no contract, I ain't seen no contract.

"I'm the man in control of my destiny, I'm a smart individual and I make calculated decisions every step of the way."

So he doesn't deny the idea or that talks have happened, only that a deal's been signed.

It's consistent with what he said only in December on the exact same topic:

https://www.dazn.com/en-DE/news/boxing/ ... zmxsqnvkh4

“Step aside in terms of, I don't know if that goes in line with what I morally stand for. But let me be real, I want to be known as one of the smartest businessmen as well," Joshua said.

“I used to watch Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe, we all know the stories of NFL players, basketball players, they make bad decisions. I wanted to make sure I make the smart moves when it comes to this business. If the money is right, you have to look at it.

"You have to look at it. But respect to me has a lot more value than money. Respect first, what I'm known for when I leave this division, then being the smartest businessman in my career.

"That step aside thing, it may not go with what I stand for in terms of bringing me respect, fighting the best, but it may make sense for business."

Frankly I think AJ has no problem whatsoever with stepping aside. But he is trying to avoid losing face by expressly confirming that. If he does eventually do it, fifteen million quid for doing nothing should sort out that bruised ego of his.

My absolute speculative guess would be that the Saudis are interested in having an undisputed heavyweight fight - the first ever for all four belts, so a hell of a PR feat if money is no object. All parties would be frantically trying to work out if the additional Saudi money covers the cost of getting Whyte and AJ to step aside, plus lost stadium revenue.

If that's right, the big question is Whyte. If the fight goes ahead he makes perhaps £7m or £8m guarantee? (Or if purse bids go badly wrong, as little as £3-4m.) But if he doesn't fight, perhaps they'd pay him more. On the other hand, is 34-year old Whyte really going to risk probably the one title shot he'll ever get, after all these years? Surely he'll want dibs on the winner? But is AJ ever going to agree to that?

So to pull the Saudi deal off, they would have four boxers to negotiate with. Before they even get to paying Usyk and Fury, they have to pay off one guy who is hell-bent on fighting for the title, and another who is is a two-time champion and huge commercial draw.

Serious potential for headaches going this route. But who knows how much the Saudis want it?

[tonyevs]

Where do the Saudis get their value with paying the huge sums of money for step-aside .. then huge sums for Fury v Usyk?

With covid still hanging around, and things potentially being scuppered in weeks - it just doesnt make sense.

[Terminator666]

I’ve got a feeling AJ will step aside- be interesting to see what happens.

[maverick23]

Where do the Saudis get their value with paying the huge sums of money for step-aside .. then huge sums for Fury v Usyk?

With covid still hanging around, and things potentially being scuppered in weeks - it just doesnt make sense.

They’re wanting to promote their country by putting on big sporting spectacles and £15m is nothing to them for a step aside.

A fight to crown an disputed champ and the first one in c.20 years will do that and will be a fairly big deal sporting wise across the world.

They do a couple of WWE shows a year and apparently pay $100m for the privilege. $50m for 3 hours of wrestling when WWE has never had so few viewers in its history. That is just a site fee - the WWE owns the IP of the show so also benefit from PPV/network subscribers,

[jamesmcdonnell]

Where do the Saudis get their value with paying the huge sums of money for step-aside .. then huge sums for Fury v Usyk?

With covid still hanging around, and things potentially being scuppered in weeks - it just doesnt make sense.

It is a PR exercise, the sums involved are peanuts to the ruling House of Saud, literally chump change.

[jamesmcdonnell]

It's all getting very tedious this. No wonder boxing become marginal.

[595179]

He ain't stepping aside for no man. I'll bet anyone a hundred sheets that Usyk fights AJ before he fights Fury.

[tiny_acres]

He ain't stepping aside for no man. I'll bet anyone a hundred sheets that Usyk fights AJ before he fights Fury.

Yes. No way is AJ giving this rematch up. It's pure fantasy to think otherwise

[595179]

He ain't stepping aside for no man. I'll bet anyone a hundred sheets that Usyk fights AJ before he fights Fury.

Yes. No way is AJ giving this rematch up. It's pure fantasy to think otherwise

The media are all over his every word so when he says things like 'I'll look at all the options', they print/post the old classic, 'Joshua refuses to rule out stepping aside'.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I watched AJ’s video. He didn’t actually deny anything did he?

[595179]

I watched AJ’s video. He didn’t actually deny anything did he?

Did he say 'I'm stepping aside.'?

[margaret thatcher]

aj steps aside for a fee and he gets that big fee, and then he is front runner for the undisputed fight, rather than a 3 belt unification vs a guy who already beat him. it makes some sense.

he basically get paid to have a bigger fight available to him

[595179]

aj steps aside for a fee and he gets that big fee, and then he is front runner for the undisputed fight, rather than a 3 belt unification vs a guy who already beat him. it makes some sense.

he basically get paid to have a bigger fight available to him

That's one way to look at it, another would be to say that stepping aside means he doesn't fancy the Usyk rematch. It doesn't matter, he won't be stepping aside.

[gregregegg]

-It makes perfect sense if you are confident the winner will fight you for undisputed...

-It makes a decent amount of sense if you know the winner will fight you but it wont be undisputed..

-but makes no sense if the winner retires you create a situation where its nearly impossable to be the number 1 heavy of your generation..

-It makes the most sense if your faking out and are going to fight usyk but just wanna fornicate with bob and fury for a laugh....

[tiny_acres]

-It makes the most sense if your faking out and are going to fight usyk but just wanna fornicate with bob and fury for a laugh....

The last comment is the only one that makes sense to me.
I just can not see him stepping aside

I do think if Fury was to beat Usyk he would retire at least temporarily and the belts would split