When Tyson Fury finally fights Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed world heavyweight title clash, the Englishman is set to make in excess of £100 million for his night’s work. This is the figure that Fury’s promoter Bob Arum was quoted as saying when news of the long-awaited bout was finally announced at the end of September. Somehow, Fury has managed to walk away with £40 million more than what he was asking for back in March.
Fury’s unmatched earnings
To put these new figures into perspective, Fury’s brother Tommy made just £1.5 million from his last bout with YouTube star Jake Paul. Admittedly, Tommy is set to make more in his next match with KSI but it will still only be around £2 million. Of course, should he win the fight which he is tipped to do given that the Tommy Fury v KSI betting odds price him at just 2/7 to beat his YouTuber opponent, he will be eligible to earn further bonuses.
While Tommy Fury will of course be exceptionally well renumerated, the wider point is that it will be a drop in the ocean compared to the cheque Tyson will cash after his showdown with Usyk.
So, how did the current WBC champion set himself up for a payday that could go down as the highest individual purse in history? To get the answer, we need to go back to some of the more challenging days in Fury’s career when he had no business empire to speak of.
It’s a long way down
After beating Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf in 2015 to win the heavyweight championship of the world, Fury arrived at the summit of the sport and entered the prime of his career. However, few would have predicted that the Englishman wouldn’t fight again for another three years after this historic night.
During this period of inactivity, Fury was stripped of his belts and eventually stopped training. When the world was at his feet, Fury wasn’t able to capitalise on the riches ready to be earned.
Eventually, Fury would announce a comeback but after 36 months out of the ring, the heavyweight’s stock had fallen to an all-time low. Essentially, there were no lucrative purses on offer and no title fights lined up; Fury had to start again from scratch and this meant his first opponent would be unknown Albanian boxer Sefer Seferi.
Slowly, Fury began to tick these journeymen boxers off the list as he built up his reputation again, and at the end of 2018, he ended up in a WBC championship fight with Deontay Wilder. It was a bout that many thought had come too soon for Fury who was urged by his relatives not to take the risk against the hardest puncher in the sport.
However, Fury knew he had to throw caution to the wind to speed up the long walk back to the top which is why he agreed to fight Wilder at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. What followed was the most remarkable 12 rounds in the history of the sport as Fury produced a boxing masterclass.
With the end in sight and only two minutes left of the bout, Fury was on course for a courageous win only for Wilder to finally land a devastating punch that sent Fury crashing to the canvas. Seemingly beaten, a motionless Fury lay on the floor while Widler celebrated.
The second coming
Then it happened, the moment that resurrected Fury’s career and put him on the path to earning the biggest payday in professional boxing; the heavyweight got up and miraculously beat the count of ten. That decision not to give up in the face of defeat inspired millions and simultaneously, made Fury the most marketable boxer in the world.
Over the next five years, Fury used his newfound brand intelligently to build a business empire that is now worth over £50 million. From best-selling book deals, stints with the WWE, and a huge contract with Netflix, Fury was eventually able to use his feats in the ring to generate eye-watering wealth. Fury’s road to the top was unconventional but all the while, the Englishman learned invaluable lessons about taking second chances when they are presented.