By: Sean Cross
“Okay guys, it’s official,” WBC and reigning heavyweight title Tyson Fury wrote in an Instagram message on Monday. D-Day has come and gone. It’s past 5pm on Monday. No contract was signed. Fury was of course referring to a potential fight between himself and former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in December. Fury has given Joshua until Monday to officially sign a contract for December. Joshua and the team indicated that they liked what they saw from Fury’s camp, but that they needed more time to sift through the fine print. “I’m definitely going to sign a contract,” Joshua said on social media. “Right now it’s just with some lawyers.”
That wasn’t enough for Fury, who now says the high-profile event isn’t happening — at least not in December. “I always knew you didn’t have the ore to fight the Gypsy King,” Fury said. “Good luck with your career and life” is strong talk, to be sure, but it’s worth noting that Joshua’s camp is still negotiating. The same, believe it or not, also applies to Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren. “We’re trying to make it work,” Warren said. talkSPORT“And we had a good meeting today to see what happens.”
If there’s one thing to be said for unpredictable anger, it’s that it’s always unpredictable. Last summer, Joshua surprised many after losing a rematch to Oleksandr Usyk, when the undefeated titlist defeated the Englishman on a sixty/forty split in the purse. It seemed too good to be true, and it probably was. Still, Fury could decide to change his mind at the deadline if the team finds Joshua too tough to get him in December.
A brawl between Fury and Joshua was long overdue. In fact, just last year, the two Englishmen were going to fight in the Middle East. A judge’s ruling, however, caused the much-anticipated fight to fall through. Following the referee’s decision, Fury fought Deontay Wilder for the third time in a tough fight, where Fury defeated the American with a hard punch. However, things did not go well for Joshua, eventually losing the heavyweight title to Oleksandr Usyk. The Londoner has fought just once since then – again against Usyk, who won again several weeks ago.
