Klitschko has ruled the heavyweight roost for a decade. He has 18 successful title defenses to his credit. But he is slowing down?
WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-3, 53 KOs), from Kiev, Ukraine, by way of Zhangiztobe, Kazakhstan, and undefeated Tyson Fury (24-0, 18 KOs), from Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom, have reached terms to fight at the ESPRIT Arena in D?sseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, on October 24.
Negotiations at the WBA offices in Panama this morning down-to-the wire, which prompted Fury to tweet, with the delicacy we?ve come to expect, ?Got to say the [Klitschkos] and [their] peeps are liars & cheats. Say 1 thing & mean another. We had a deal and they reneged on it! Con artists.? But the back-and-forth continued and reached a satisfactory conclusion just minutes before the deadline prior to the purse bid.
Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, which represents Klitschko, and Mick Hennessy, who represents Fury, agreed that the reigning and defending heavyweight champion will earn 80% of the purse, while the remaining 20% goes to the challenger.
As Fury?s tweet suggests, it wasn?t exactly smooth sailing. Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren, and Vlad Hrunov were in Panama, hoping to win exclusive promotional rights for themselves. But all sides are presumably happy with the end result.
The superlatives are already flying fast and furious.
Klitschko has ruled the heavyweight roost for a decade. He has 18 successful title defenses to his credit. But he appears to be slowing down.
Fury is undefeated and three inches bigger than the 6-foot-6-inch Dr. Steelhammer. He is also 13 years younger. Whether that size and age difference can force a changing of the guard, we?ll have to wait and see.
But the fight is a go. Everyone is looking forward to the showdown. Even Fury appears pleased.
?VivaDeutschland,? he tweeted, ?I?m coming to rock your country in October be there [or] miss the best fight in heavyweight history #letsgetthispartystarted?
