Top Rank promoter Bob Arum speaks to Fight Hub TV about what it took to finally get Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to come to terms for an undisputed heavyweight title unification, and ultimately thanks a Saudi Arabian prince for opening up the purse strings to the extent that both parties were satisfied to sign on the dotted line. Check out some of what he had to say below.
Arum on finally getting Fury vs Usyk over the line
“I think all credit goes to Prince Turki and his organization because he was able to secure this fight because he’s a no nonsense guy who directly controls the sovereign fund in Saudi Arabia for entertainment. So the fighters knew that once they signed contracts the money would be there and they weren’t dealing with any middle man. Once Prince Turki was in the picture, I was convinced that this fight was going to happen.”
On if the middlemen were holding up the deal between Fury and Usyk
“Of course. Even if the middleman came from Saudi Arabia like Skill Challenge, they could make a deal but then they’d have to go get the funds from the sovereign fund, and maybe yes they did it when Usyk fought Joshua the second time, but that wasn’t always gonna be the case.
“But now with Prince Turki, who controls the sovereign fund as far as entertainment, you’re not dealing with the middleman, you’re dealing with the source.”
On Fury and Usyk agreeing on a purse split
“There’s no split. Prince Turki for the sovereign fund negotiated a purse for Usyk, and a purse for Fury. They were each satisfied with the purse. They’re not stupid and they were not looking ‘hey, what’s the other guy getting?’ because they don’t care as long as they got the number that they were looking for, they were happy, and that’s the way it should be.”
On saying Fury stands to makes a lot of money in the near future
“For this fight and the Ngannou fight and for what’s down the line, I said he can look with confidence on making close to $200 million in the relative near term.”
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