First, a little warning. I don’t believe a word that comes out of Tyson Fury’s mouth. I’ve been surrounded by enough hustlers and hustlers to smell a lot of BS from a mile away. If “The Gypsy King” told me that my hair is on fire, I would run to grab a mirror before running for water. That’s not an insult in my books, by the way, it just means the man knows the words.
“I think everyone has heard that I am going to fight soon in the next couple of months,” WBC champion Fury recently said via social media video, “and I think before I announce an opponent I need to do this. , just in case: Anthony Joshua, I know you just lost a fight with Usyk and you don’t have a belt right now, and I’d like to give you the opportunity to fight me for the WBC heavyweight world championship and lineal championship in the next few days. months. You’re coming off a twelve round fight, so you’re in good shape, you’re ready. I’ll let you know a few months in advance. If you’re interested I’ll send you the date and we can haggle. A Battle of Great Britain for the WBC World Heavyweight Championship. Let me know if you are interested. If not, I will select another opponent. Thanks so much and good night. Boom.”
What followed was the usual when fighters are called online.
Joshua responded with an unspoken “Let’s put it in type” response with a big “if” built in.
“Yeah, relax. I don’t jump into online discussions just for clout, so if you’re really into it, yell @258mgt. I’ll be ready in December,” Joshua replied via Twitter.
So the suits got involved.
“We will send them a written offer today,” Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren told talkSPORT. “My son George spoke to Eddie Hearn yesterday. I think the terms that we are going to present are very, very fair.
“He’s willing to make that voluntary defense, so we’ll send the offer today, and then they’ll have to look at it and decide if they want to grab this with both hands.”
“I’d love to get excited about this,” Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, told Talk Sport in response. “Because it is a fight that I get stopped on the street for more than any other. Don’t forget, we signed for this fight last year before arbitration forced the [third] Deontay Wilder fights for Fury. AJ’s message is pretty clear, we don’t want to get involved in a back-and-forth, we want the fight, it’s the fight he’s wanted for a long time. If the fight is there and they’re serious, and I have my doubts, but for the sake of trying to make it happen, let’s believe that Tyson Fury and I said to (co-promoter) George Warren last night, get the details and he offers. .. We did not expect this opportunity, but it is a great opportunity to fight for the world heavyweight title in the biggest fight in boxing. And we will definitely look at it.”
Then, there was a follow-up follow-up.
“This is an easy fight to make the normal champion have challenger privileges, and I am 100% serious. We are going to rumble UK”, writes Fury through social networks.
“I’m being bombarded with messages of how much I’m going to pay AJ,” Fury responded to his own response.
“Everyone says 80/20, 70/30, 75/25, the real answer is I offered him 60/40. 40 percent of this amazing fight because I want this fight to happen.
“You no longer have excuses not to take it, you cannot say that I have reduced it by offering you 20 or 30%.
“I’ve offered people 40%, take it or leave it, let us know.”
Before anyone gets too excited, we should back up this truck and remember how these steamy shit deliveries usually go down.
What will follow is an intense back-and-forth through social media that spills over into traditional media, which is always in desperate need of CONTENT and is often teeming with brands and suckers.
Then, when things fall apart, as they invariably do when negotiations are conducted in public and through the media, both sides will retreat to the safety of their respective security blankets. “I wanted to fight him, but his side went crazy.” .
Perhaps this is one of the rare occasions where there is some substance to the smoke and mirrors. But probably not.
And there are plenty of reasons why this one screams “going nowhere” in a heavy Irish accent. Not least is the fact that Joshua fought last August 20, and lost and nearly collapsed afterwards. Team Fury is talking about this fight taking place in November, which would essentially mean just over two months for training, publicity, and working out the wide range of logistical issues involved with an event of this size.
However, the fight is feasible. UK fans will devour Fury-Joshua like baked beans in a full English breakfast, so promotion would be easy. Warren and Hearn are veterans of putting on big shows, so logistics wouldn’t be a major issue either. And, physically, Joshua could probably be fine coming from a big fight straight into an 8-week training camp.
But the problem is all of those things, plus the reality that Joshua may not be ready, mentally, for the kind of do-or-die matchup that a Fury fight represents for him right now. He has lost his last two fights and three of his last five. Honestly, there was probably no way Joshua would be mentally prepared for something like this, so soon.
For Fury, this is all a win-win. If he gets the fight with Joshua, he will make a fortune and come into the fight with a huge mental advantage and a well-rested body. If it doesn’t happen, he’ll get all the positive publicity for “wanting” the fight that Joshua and his team wouldn’t. These positive vibes will push his negotiating hand in future talks with 3-belt champion Oleksandr Usyk or play into the narrative that these big names, namely Usyk and Joshua, are avoiding him (and he’s already pushing the story of getting close to Joshua because ‘easy to work with’ Usyk won’t fight him).
It’s the perfect setup for a smart hustle/scam.
Or this could all just be Tyson Fury playing the game for attention in the face of all the recent adulation thrown Usyk’s way. Don’t overlook the possibility that your recent retirement, retirement, retirement, retirement, and these social media posts are the product of a man who, for whatever reason (cough, cough…Daniel Kinahan…cough, cough) he can’t fight right now, but he desperately wants to stay in the spotlight.
So yeah, time for a grain of salt with all this Fury-Joshua stuff. It is much like buying a lottery ticket. If it happens, great… but don’t make any real plans for the windfall.
