Heavyweight champ Fury rules out fighting Joshua after deadline expires
LONDON: Tyson Fury says his proposed heavyweight showdown with Anthony Joshua is off ater a deadline set by Fury’s camp expired without a deal on Monday.
Fury had challenged Joshua earlier this month, saying he would come out of retirement to defend his title in December, a challenge Joshua accepted.
Fury set Joshua an ultimatum on Friday night, insisting if the deal could not be done in time then he would walk away from the blockbuster all-british bout.
Speaking on Instagram on Monday evening, the WBC champion said: “Well guys, it’s official. D-day has come and gone. It’s gone past five o’clock, Monday. No contract has been signed.
“It’s officially over for Joshua. He is now out in the cold with the wolfpack.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn had already said there was “no chance” of contracts for being signed by Monday.
Speaking on an Instagram Live, Joshua said: “It ain’t in my hands — it’s with a legal team. That’s why you hire lawyers.
“You know the history of boxing - make sure you get your legal terms right. That’s why you get good management and good lawyers.
“So, of course, I’m going to sign the contract. It’s just with some lawyers at the minute.”
Joshua’s team have already verbally accepted Fury’s offer of a 60-40 purse split.
Joshua’s Management and promoter Matchroom Boxing had said that they had “accepted all terms presented to us by Fury’s team” but agreed to halt all communication due to the death of Queen Elizabeth.
Joshua suffered a second consecutive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia last month, and Fury’s hopes of a title unification match were dashed ater the Ukrainian indicated he does not intend to return to the ring until 2023.
Mahmoud Charr last week called on Fury to forget about fighting Joshua in December, and to fight him instead.
Former WBA ‘regular’ champion Charr insists Fury should not be fighting Joshua, following AJ’S back-to-back defeats at the hands of Usyk.
“First of all, if Fury fights AJ next, it’s not good for boxing. AJ is mentally broken and he needs recovery from his two losses,” Charr told Sky Sports.
“If Eddie Hearn accepts this fight vs Fury, Eddie [will] have to change his business. I think Fury will give AJ a bad knockout, [given] his mental position now. Everyone knows Fury promised more than one time to fight me. If he is the real Spartan, he must fight the real Superman. It’s me.”