When Tyson Fury announced on Monday afternoon UK time that he was moving on from that massive potential clash with Anthony Joshua, boxing Twitter once again went into utter meltdown.
The response was not pretty – ‘boxing shoots itself in the foot again’ was the consensus after what appeared to be another near miss for the biggest all-British fight in a generation, maybe ever.
Fury vs Joshua – the situation
But is this showdown – planned for Cardiff in Wales on Saturday December 3 – really dead? There are a couple of potential scenarios here:
- Fury absolutely stands firm on what he said Monday, he is now out when it comes to facing AJ on December 3 and instead he will move on to defend his WBC and lineal heavyweight titles vs Manuel Charr.
- Constantly urging AJ to “sign the contract”, and setting hard deadlines, is a ploy to actually ensure the fight happens. Injecting even more urgency into the situation.
There is a school of thought that the latter could be in play here. We are only a little over eight weeks away from a fight date that nobody really expected right now. While the bout would sell out if announced 3 days before, there is still much to be organised. It does need to get done soon, if at all.
Promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn were both still making relatively positive noises on Monday despite Fury’s stated decision to walk away from the fight. Talks were held including both respective broadcasters – BT Sport and DAZN. It appears there is still goodwill on both sides to try and get this fight over the line.
We even had what might well be a world first – Hearn actually agreeing with Warren. If this fight fails it will not be because of a lack of desire to make it happen from then.
26.09.22 – I agree with Frank! https://t.co/C6DMDFNacq
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) September 26, 2022
It is also worth remembering that a lot can change in boxing in a very short space of time. Remember May 2021, when it was announced that Fury and Joshua would meet in Saudi Arabia on August 14, 2021? And remember when Deontay Wilder ruined that plan within 24 hours by winning a legal ruling to force a trilogy fight with Fury?
It would be foolish to rule out anything here. If this fight was ever really in play for December 3, then it probably remains so.
If by the end of the week we have no signed contracts, then maybe it is time to really raise the alarm. Just not yet.
