A heavyweight tournament in the Middle East later this year could potentially be the toughest negotiation process for its organizers, but for Oleksandr Usyk his participation in these negotiations will be relatively easy. At least that's what his manager Egis Klimas thinks.
In a recent interview, Klimas, longtime manager of the WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion, responded to speculation that high-profile sponsors in the Middle East are considering hosting a boxing night in December featuring some of the strongest in the heavyweight division: Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
Amer Abdallah, one of the key figures helping to develop boxing in Saudi Arabia, confirmed that preliminary talks had begun with the fighters and their representatives, but also stressed that there was nothing "concrete" yet.
All four fighters are affiliated with competing promotional and broadcasting organizations, which could complicate such a massive undertaking. In addition, Usyk and Fury recently failed to conclude a deal after lengthy negotiations.
Klimas believes that Usyk's participation in the negotiations will be quite easy, because he is not tied to an exclusive contact with any of the broadcasting companies, which in boxing sometimes more often than usual leads to the impossibility of fights.
“I read in the news about this tournament,” Klimas said in an interview with iD Boxing. - If they are going to do this, I can only wish them more strength and patience. I will only be happy with such a tournament. But I represent Oleksandr Usyk, and I can only speak on behalf of Oleksandr Usyk, and I know that many organizations are involved in this, many different broadcasters. Let's see if they can solve it. I can say that from my point of view, Alexander is free from any broadcasts, networks, promotions, so it will probably be the easiest to work with us.”
