Bob Arum, who manages Fury, has confirmed that Saudi Arabia is OUT of the running to host the first ever unification of four heavyweight belts.
Arum said to iD Boxing, “We want to have the fight at Wembley Stadium, and talks with both Usyk and his promoter K2 and Tyson are getting close to a deal.
“So let’s hope we can start working on that fight as soon as next week and get it going.
“We’d love to have a press conference not only in London, but also in New York, with the fighters there, and a press conference there as well.”
The Middle East was the most likely place to hold the historic title unification, but Arum said they won’t be able to do so on the date they wanted, April.
He said, “The Saudi money is not possible because Saudi Arabia doesn’t have the time to fight in the way that the organisations want.”
Fury, 34, and Usyk, 36, had to fight with organisers in Saudi Arabia over purses before the location was ruled out.
Now, the two stars will have to agree on how to split the money for a fight in the UK, which is worth less.
Alex Krassyuk, who manages Usyk, has said that he won’t agree to anything less than a 50/50 split.
But Fury’s side says that since he is the bigger draw, he should get a bigger share, but Arum won’t talk about it in public.
He said: “I’m not going to talk about numbers or statements because it all falls apart when you start negotiating in the press.
“Because then, people’s egos take the lead, and egos are more important than common sense.
“So let’s just let it go, let it happen behind the scenes. I’m sure we’ll figure it out, and hopefully we’ll have news soon.”
