He may have a heavyweight title rematch with Oleksandr Usyk looming, but former champion Tyson Fury also said he was looking beyond the Ukrainian and a lucrative showdown with British rival Anthony Joshua, saying money, not legacy, was his driving force.
Fury is aiming to seize the WBA, WBC and WBO world heavyweight titles held by Usyk when they meet for the second time at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on Saturday.
Whatever the outcome, the ‘Gypsy King’ believes there will always be appetite for a domestic clash with Joshua even though his rival’s star has waned after his crushing fifth-round knockout by Daniel Dubois in September.
Fury was ringside at Wembley, part of the Riyadh Season series, to watch Joshua’s dramatic defeat and was caught on camera saying “that’s cost me £150 million”.
The 36 year old insisted the comment was genuine, adding that he and Joshua would have had a two-fight deal where each would have made a "ton of money".
"Unfortunately doors open, doors close,” Fury said.
Defeat to Dubois was the fourth of Joshua's 32-fight career, and the manner of it had some observers wondering if he had what it took to reclaim the heavyweight championship, having also suffered back-to-back defeats to Usyk.
Fury, who has won 34 of his pro bouts, with one draw and a defeat to Usyk the only blemishes on his record, insisted that a showdown with Joshua is still a blockbuster matchup that fight fans will pay to see.
“Does it really matter if he has another loss or not? It doesn’t matter. It’s still a big fight," Fury added.
“Even if he goes in against Dubois and he gets knocked out again ... It’s still a great fight. It’s a great fight that we all want to see.”
Joshua was heavily favoured to become a three-time world champion when he faced Dubois, only to be outclassed by his younger opponent.
A rematch looked likely to be his next step, but talks have stalled on a second bout, with Dubois now slated to face New Zealand's former WBO champion Joseph Parker in Riyadh in February.
Usyk was crowned undisputed champion with a split decision victory over Fury in May before relinquishing the IBF belt, which was awarded to sanctioning body’s No 1 challenger Dubois.
Fury reportedly earned close to £100m for the first fight with Usyk but, as challenger, will take the lower percentage for the rematch, which is reported to be worth a combined £150m.
He insisted that the financial rewards were the only reason he continued to box.
“Legacy is my kids. I care about my family, my kids, providing for them, looking after them. That’s it,” he said.
“I’m only doing it for the money. All prize fighters, if they tell the truth, do it for the money. Who here is not doing it for the money?
“I want as much as I can get. I want the easiest fights possible for the largest amounts of money possible.
“I don’t want the toughest fights possible for the least amount of money. I wasn’t born in a Christmas cracker.”
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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