Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk: Frank Warren blasts "ignorant and stupid" people blaming Gypsy King for collapse of Wembley fight

Talks between the two camps have taken place in recent months and an official announcement for an April 29 showdown had appeared close.

However, the unification bout in London is now definitely off despite having looked all set as recently as Sunday, when a Mother’s Day conference call appeared to iron out most of the details, except the parameters of any rematch.

The whole saga has left many fight fans disillusioned and keen to point fingers, but Warren insists Fury is not at fault.

“I really don’t understand it. It’s bollocks,” the veteran promoter said.

“He’s been in training, he’s got his sparring partners there, his chef has been flown in, his trainer flew in. He has been training for this fight.

“Anyone who says that is just ignorant and stupid. Do you think we’re making this up?

“On Mother’s Day, everyone is doing things with their mums and kids and we were spending time on the phone at nine o’clock in the morning with lawyers you’ve got to pay for a laugh?”

WBC champion Fury called out Usyk, who holds the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, following his victory over Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum revealed weeks later an agreement had been reached for a unification bout to take place.

Negotiations rumbled on, with plenty of back-and-forth between the two heavyweights on social media, but on March 10 Ukrainian boxer Usyk accepted a 70-30 purse split, provided Morecambe’s Fury donated £1million to Ukraine to help their efforts in the war against Russia.

Warren is not convinced Usyk, who could now face fellow Brit Daniel Dubois, the mandatory challenger for his WBA title, even wanted the fight in the first place.

“In all honesty, I didn’t think Tyson would be ready (for April 29) because he had an injury but they called his bluff and said ‘if you’re not ready on that date, it’s dead’,” he said. “Tyson told them he’d be ready and after that it all went cold.”

The Queensberry Promotions chief thinks it is unlikely that the pair will now be able to meet for all four belts, given how difficult it will be for the Ukrainian to satisfy three governing bodies in the coming months.

The fight would have crowned a first undisputed champion in the heavyweight division for 23 years. There has been no undisputed champion at all in the four-belt era.

As for Fury, Warren has indicated, not for the first time, that the Gypsy King could retire.

“I don’t know yet, it’s all very raw,” he said. “He’s still in training. I spoke to him today and he’s not very happy. It’s too soon really so we’ll let the dust settle.

“I don’t know what he wants to do, he may not want to fight again. Whatever he does want to do, as ever, I’ll be with him.”