Tyson Fury has breathed new hope into the possibility of that showdown vs Anthony Joshua going ahead after all on Saturday December 3.
‘The Gypsy King’ (32-0-1) said on Monday that he was moving on to fight Manuel Charr instead after his deadline for Joshua (24-3) to sign contracts expired.
But three days on, he has detailed another deadline after he says being persuaded by co-promoter Frank Warren to stay on board with that all-British blockbuster.
Fury says all key terms are agreed and that all of the broadcasters involved – DAZN, BT Sport and ESPN – are “on the same page”.
He says there is now no reason for Joshua not to sign, and wants contracts signed by the end of Thursday. There will be, he says, no more deadlines.
Tyson Fury on Joshua fight latest
Speaking on social media, the WBC and lineal heavyweight champion said: “So, the deadline was Monday. Frank Warren asked me and convinced me to let it carry on for a couple of days. Today’s Thursday, and even though I knew you wouldn’t sign this contract, I allowed Frank to continue doing meetings with your team and your broadcasters and all that.
“Now we have BT, DAZN and ESPN all on the same page. They are happy with everything, they’re all happy, ready to rock and roll.
This is a message to @anthonyjoshua.
My promoter Frank Warren convinced me to let Queensberry carry on negotiating with your team this week, despite me knowing that you were never going to do this fight… pic.twitter.com/XpcHOpZJzk
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) September 29, 2022
Fury claims he has bent over backwards in a bid to make sure the fight – planned for Cardiff on December 3 – takes place.
“You guys asked for a lot of stuff. You wanted to be co-promoters when you’re a voluntary challenger – guess what, I said ‘let them be co-promoters’,” he said.
“You wanted full transparency even though you’re not a shareholder in this party, I said ‘give them full transparency’. I’ve got nothing to hide, I’m not trying to rob anybody. I’ve never robbed anybody of a penny in my life.
“So now you’ve got full transparency, everything is clean and fair. Now Joshua, the ball is really in your court son. Everybody is done. If you’re a man and if you’ve got any sort of dignity and pride about you, you’ll sign this contract today.”
Thursday is D-Day for AJ says Fury
Fury says while he backed down over the Monday deadline, he will not back down over his latest one.
“This is it, there is no more days, weeks, months. You’ve had the contract now for over 2 weeks and you still haven’t signed it. Show the public that you’re really a big coward that I know you are, and don’t sign it. I don’t care either way, you sign it or you don’t, makes no difference to me at all.
“You’re a beaten man and I’m a world champion, I’m chucking you a massive bone. I know that I can punch your face in so I’m willing to give you an opportunity.”
The broadcast situation was expected to be the final hurdle to overcome in a bid to make this superfight at such short notice – the men agreed a 60-40 financial split (Fury gets the lion’s share as the champion). But it appears from Fury’s latest message that everything is resolved there.
Fury’s fights in recent years have aired on BT Sport in the UK and ESPN in the United States, while Joshua now has a global deal with streaming platform DAZN.
