/** * https://gist.github.com/samthor/64b114e4a4f539915a95b91ffd340acc */ (function() { var check = document.createElement('script'); if (!('noModule' in check) && 'onbeforeload' in check) { var = false; document.addEventListener('beforeload', function(e) { if (e.target === check) { = true; } else if (!e.target.hasAttribute('nomodule') || !) { return; } e.preventDefault(); }, true); check.type = 'module'; check.src = '.'; document.head.appendChild(check); check.remove(); } }());

Fury v Usyk & Crawford v Spence - why are big fights not happening?

Oleksandr Usyk faces off with Tyson FuryGetty Images

Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk (right) holds the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles and Tyson Fury of Britain is the WBC champion

By Kal Sajad
BBC Sport

Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua v Deontay Wilder featuring on the same card on the same night?

Promoter Eddie Hearn has said representatives in the Middle East want to host an unparalleled heavyweight event at the end of the year in a deal that could exceed $400m (£320m).

"It will take an awful lot of money, which is abundant in the Middle East, so it shouldn't be ruled out," says Matt Christie, editor of Boxing News, the world's longest-running active boxing magazine.

"Talks are ongoing and are genuine. But as we know, talking is one thing, getting fighters to agree is quite another."

After the failure to negotiate an undisputed fight between champions Usyk and Fury, many boxing buffs are sceptical.

Is this just another delaying tactic to deflect the conversation away from an issue many feel is threatening the sport's future?

The biggest fights - those with the potential to capture the general public's imagination and attract new enthusiasts - are rarely being delivered.

"Without the best fights happening, boxing will fall over," promoter Ben Shalom says. "It's the biggest turn off for fans."

BBC Sport looks at why 'super fights' are so difficult to make and the impact it has on the sport's popularity and credibility.

'It's going to kill the sport'

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua image side by sideGetty Images

WBC champion Fury (left) and former champion Joshua have been close in the past to agreeing an all-British contest

Everyone from traditionalists to casual fans were clamouring for an iconic bout between WBC belt holder Fury and WBA (Super), IBF and WBO champion Usyk.

It was almost agreed for 29 April at Wembley Stadium... but fell through.

Boxxer promoter Shalom hopes it is a "watershed moment" and leads to much-needed change.

"Hopefully we can step back and say 'why is this happening">