Bob Arum Reveals Talks Ongoing For Tyson Fury To Face Oleksandr Usyk But Not Optimistic

There’s a small chance but we might see Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk next according to Bob Arum.

Usyk is set to face Anthony Joshua in a rematch expected to take place in the next few months. Fury, meanwhile, is currently ordered by the WBC to face his mandatory in Dillian Whyte in a fight previously expected to take place in March.

However, with Whyte having an ongoing legal issue with the WBC as well as not being happy with the body’s 80/20 purse split that led promoter Eddie Hearn to reveal he would appeal it, plans could change drastically.

Especially with purse bids being delayed twice from January 11 to the new date of January 21.

Bob Arum: It Is Total Chaos

In the meantime, Fury’s co-promoter Arum revealed there were talks over a Middle East deal that would see Fury fight Usyk next with Whyte and Joshua being heavily compensated to step aside.

But with that said, he is far from optimistic of that happening given the parties that are discussing the idea.

“It is total chaos,” Arum told talkSPORT.com. “What’s happening is just promises coming out of the Middle East about doing a unified fight with Usyk and Fury, and is Dillian Whyte gonna step aside.

“And people that have absolutely no contractual ties – like Frank Warren’s Queensberry and our Top Rank do – are getting involved. It’s a typical terrible kind of situation, but hopefully it’ll get sorted out and probably it will get sorted out with a purse bid on Friday.”

As for who he believes Fury will end up facing next? At this point, even Arum has no idea.

“I have absolutely no idea,” he added. “Who are these people in the Middle East? And what’s their backing and all of that stuff? That’s not clear.

“All I know is that the contract with Tyson Fury is with Frank Warren’s Queensberry and Top Rank. Nobody has talked to us about buying out rights or getting our permission to go ahead.”

Hopefully, things get sorted out soon so we can see the heavyweight title unification fight we’ve been waiting to see for years.

For now, though, it looks like we will still be getting the Usyk vs. Joshua rematch and Fury vs. Whyte next.