Just when it looked like we were close, it seems like we’re back to square one.
Tyson Fury has withdrawn his offer of a December 3 showdown with British rival Anthony Joshua in Cardiff, Wales after he stated in a social media video on Monday that he was closing the door to the fight after Joshua failed to meet a 5pm deadline he had imposed to agree contractual terms.
“Forget about it! Idiot. Coward.” 🤬
Tyson Fury says deadline day has struck and the fight between him and Anthony Joshua is now OFF ❌
📹: @Tyson_Fury pic.twitter.com/roGUUzjinF
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) September 26, 2022
“Well guys, it’s official. D-Day has come and gone, it’s gone past 5’o’clock Monday and no contract has been signed.,” Fury said in the social media clip.
“It’s officially over for Joshua, he’s now out in the cold with the wolf pack. Forget about it. Idiot, coward, s***house, bodybuilder. Always knew you didn’t have the minerals to fight the Gyspy King. Regardless of what you say now, I don’t really care. Good luck with your career and your life, end of.”
Fury is expected to move on to a fight on the December 3 date against German heavyweight Manuel Charr; a fighter who likely won’t present a similar challenge and certainly won’t be as attractive a pay-per-view commodity as Joshua.
But according to Eddie Hearn, Fury was never serious about the discussions in the first place.
“Tyson Fury has no intention of taking this fight if that’s the route he’s going to take,” Hearn said to iFL TV of the Monday deadline.. “Tyson Fury said he’s retired, Tyson Fury said he was giving his money to the homeless… and now Tyson Fury is saying he’s walking away from the fight if we dont sign on Monday. Well guess what, we ain’t signing on Monday; we’re having a meeting on Monday to discuss various points of the contract.
“We waited nine days for the contract and we’ve been working very hard with Queensberry, no-ones been messing round, and we have meetings with BT, with DAZN, with Queensberry, to go through the process and get this done but it ain’t happening on Monday. If you’re true to your word, which you never are, then walk away.
“The public know, you’re going to fight Manuel Charr on December 3; it’s a joke. so don’t waste our time because we’ve spent a lot of time on this fight already. If you don’t want the fight, just walk away. I don’t think Tyson and Queensberry are on the same page; they can’t be.”
