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Tyson Fury insisted he was motivated by money not legacy with a lucrative showdown against Anthony Joshua still firmly on his radar.
Fury is aiming to seize the WBA, WBC and WBO world heavyweight titles held by Oleksandr Usyk when they meet for the second time at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on Saturday.
Whatever the outcome, the ‘Gypsy King’ believes there will always be appetite for a domestic clash with Joshua even though his rival’s star has waned after his crushing fifth-round knockout by Daniel Dubois in September.
Fury was ringside at Wembley to watch Joshua’s dramatic defeat and was caught on camera saying “that’s cost me £150million, the silly c***” – a comment he insists he meant.
“Of course I did. We would have had a two-fight deal lined up for a s*** tonne of money. Unfortunately doors open, doors close,” Fury said.
“Does it really matter if he has another loss or not? It doesn’t matter. It’s still a big fight.
“Even if he goes in against Dubois and he gets knocked out again – which he would – that doesn’t mean it’s a s*** fight now. It’s still a great fight. It’s a great fight that we all want to see.”
Usyk was crowned undisputed champion with a split decision victory in May before relinquishing the IBF belt, which was awarded to sanctioning body’s number one challenger Dubois.
Fury earned close to £100m for their first fight but, as challenger, will take the lower percentage for the rematch, which is reported to be worth a combined £150m.
The 36-year-old insisted that the financial rewards were the only reason he continued to box.
“Legacy is my kids. I care about my family, my kids, providing for them, looking after them. That’s it,” he said.
“I’m only doing it for the money. All prize fighters, if they tell the truth, do it for the money. Who here is not doing it for the money?
“I don’t want to work for f*** all. I want as much as I can get. I want the easiest fights possible for the largest amounts of money possible.
“I don’t want the toughest fights possible for the least amount of money. I wasn’t born in a Christmas cracker.”
