Tyson Fury talked about the $200 million he has stashed away in his bank account during today’s press conference for his rematch with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21.
Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) revealed he doesn’t care about winning world titles or his legacy. His whole focus is “money” and making as much as he can before he retires when “the wheels fall off.”
Anger Motivated by Money
In addition to the greed element that Fury has shown, it appears that he is using it as a cover for losing his last fight against Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) and coming into the rematch on December 21 as the underdog . The 36-year-old Fury is trying to play down the likelihood of losing the rematch with Usyk by saying his focus is on money, not sport.
By changing the frame and saying it’s all about money, Fury is trying to cover up the fact that he’s athletically unlikely to win the rematch against the more technically gifted Usyk. It’s a transparent tactic that Fury uses, but it doesn’t pull the wool over the eyes of fans facing him in this fight. It is expected that Usyk will beat Fury again, but this time he will put his career on ice with a knockout.
“Andy Lee never had $200 million in his bank to make him happy. So what is my goal, and what is my target? All those things are to make as much money as possible for me. This is my goal. It’s not a belt. It is not a legacy. This is not a boxing match. It is to make as much money as possible. In order to do that, I need to have as much money as I can until the wheels fall off and I’m 50 years old, crippled with a stick, walking down the street. That’s how I’ll be,” said Tyson Fury Sky Sports during today’s London press conference for his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk on December 21.
Fury has such a venomous attitude about why he’s holding on, but obviously he’s not on the level. Yes, he wants money, but he cares about his career and is only talking about the cash to give him cover for when he loses the rematch. What’s interesting is how a fighter with so little talent can make so much dough during his career. What on earth is happening?
Fury’s CV is weak, with his best wins coming against 39-year-old Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder. The rest of Fury’s career wins were against marginal competition, such as Derek Chisora, Dillian Whyte and Otto Wallin. A young version of Wladimir would have destroyed Fury.
He caught the Ukrainian at the perfect time in his career in 2015 to take the win, and even then it was a close battle. When Fury is 39, it will be interesting to see how he stacks up against a 25-year-old top ten contender. I don’t think this will end well for Fury.
“I had 40 professional fights, and I was in every one of them for the money. If I wasn’t getting paid, I wouldn’t be doing any of them,” Fury said.
The big money Fury has made in his career highlights the difference between how much British fighters make compared to the rest of the world. Anthony Joshua and Fury made huge amounts of dough during their careers despite having marginal resumes. In contrast, fighters with arguably more talent than them, like Usyk, didn’t make nearly the same kind of money. The message here is if you want to make a lot of money, move to the UK and join a famous promoter.
