Tyson Fury believes that he should get 80% of the purse if and when he and former world heavyweight champion David Haye collide later on this year.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said, “I did say that I wanted 80% of the purse because Haye is a has-been and I am what is in fashion at the moment. What’s in fashion needs the lion’s share.”
Is it just me or is what Tyson Fury has said just plain crazy talk? I remember back in 2011 at the pre-fight presser for his fight with Dereck Chisora that world titles meant much more to him than money. With Fury’s attitude and approach of wanting to take on all comers on his journey for world dominance, I didn’t see anything wrong with believing that. So, why does money matter so much to face Haye now? Is it because he does not truly believe that he has the attributes to compete with him? Or is it just all psychological games? Bare in mind that Fury was offered a 50/50 split, and with Haye beating the better calibre of opponents while Fury went the distance with Dereck Chisora, a common opponent between the two, one should feel that he is lucky to be offered that. Yet, Fury has shunned it and is asking for a bigger piece of the pie!
The reason that Tyson “is in fashion” and that the Cheshire fighter thinks that Haye has had his time does not hold much weight. We all know that Haye has not fought in almost a year but he gave the public something to remember him for when he stopped Chisora in five rounds, a challenger who went the distance and gave Vitali Klitschko his hardest fight since first winning the world title. I can only suggest that his inactivity is what Fury is referring to because at the moment a comparison of each fighter’s opposition is like night and day. I thought it was tremendously brave of Tyson to shun an IBF eliminator bout with Kubrat Pulev to focus on an all British showdown, especially since he has evidently already been in trouble in the ring with lesser fighters such as John McDermott and Neven Pajkic. Of course, he was also put down by Steve Cunningham in New York in his last fight in April and was hanging on for dear life through the majority of the bout.
Perhaps I am thinking into this too deeply and that this is all to kick start the hype for an eventual contest because I think Tyson Fury, being a student of the sport, knows that his name comes second in people’s minds when they are asked who is the prime British heavyweight boxer.
