The World Boxing Association (WBA) has established a deadline of April 1st to receive a signed contract for a highly-anticipated unification bout between heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO titles, and WBC titleholder Tyson Fury.
The WBA is the first of many organizations whose belt the Ukrainian must defend. Failure to provide a contract for the undisputed fight by the designated deadline will result in the WBA obliging Usyk to negotiate a title defense with challenger Daniel DuBois.
Previously, both boxers had informed the WBA of their verbal agreement to the fight, and the association had refrained from imposing negotiations with DuBois, allowing sufficient time for the contract to be signed.
It is worth noting that Usyk had accepted Fury's offer to split the fee 70/30 on the condition that the Briton donate one million pounds to Ukraine after the fight. The unification fight for the title of absolute world champion is scheduled to take place on April 29th at Wembley Stadium.
Fury had also suggested that a rematch clause should not be included in the unification fight contract. However, Usyk urged Fury to sign the original contract as proposed by the Briton's side since it was they who had offered the option of a rematch. Furthermore, promoter Alex Krassyuk insinuated that Fury was avoiding the fight with Usyk.
Fury has already commenced his training camp for the fight against Usyk and has announced his departure from social media for the duration of his training. Similarly, Usyk is actively preparing for the highly-anticipated match.