Anthony Joshua is set to challenge promoter Eddie Hearn and sign a contract to fight Tyson Fury before Monday’s deadline.
As World Boxing News reported the latest news on Sunday, the Fury vs Joshua deal was dead, by the logic of the Matchroom Boxing boss.
Hearn had said there was no chance Joshua would put pen to paper tomorrow. Second, his confirmation came after Fury said the fight is off if the deal isn’t signed within 24 hours.
If AJ followed Hearn, the British matchup would be dead in the water. It turns out that Joshua is more optimistic than Hearn.
Will Anthony Joshua sign Tyson Fury’s contract?
The former two-time world champion is hoping to finish the battle of the UK’s top two heavyweights before Fury’s cutoff point.
“I have been signing contracts for years. It’s not in my hands. It’s with the legal team,” Joshua explained.
“That’s why you hire lawyers. If you know the history of boxing, make sure you get the legal terms correct.
“That’s why you have good managers and good lawyers. So of course I’m going to sign the contract.
“It’s just with a few lawyers right now,” he added.
Earlier, Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, raised concerns about the length of time it took for Joshua’s management company to oversee the terms.
Eddie Hearn was not happy
Joshua had verbally agreed to all the stipulations until the contract came through, and Hearn wasn’t happy.
“No. It’s not signed yet. We’re waiting for them to come back to us. But I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be signed,” Warren told talkSPORT.
“The main crux of the negotiations is the divisions that are agreed upon: 60/40. There is an agreed rematch clause: 50/50.
“The big problem was when the fight would take place. It’s December [at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff].
“To make everyone feel comfortable, we have even said that they can participate in all the broadcast contracts, sponsorships and everything.
“So they can see that everything is in order.”
fury against joshua
However, Sky Sports pundit Johnny Nelson, who is not involved in Fury vs Joshua at all, expressed his views.
“I’m not sure, if I’m being honest. My feeling is that we have heard it from both fighters now. We have heard things from both camps,” he told Metro.
“Tyson made the offer, we don’t know if it was a bluff or not, and Anthony Joshua accepted it. They have accepted it.
“It could be little things like ticket allocation, whose name comes first. Who can post what on social media, those petty things?
“And when it comes to those kinds of things, they can be a deal breaker.”
UK fans will certainly cross their fingers that Joshua doesn’t follow Hearn’s timeline and that an official deal can be announced on Monday night.
If confirmed with Fury’s team, the fight will be Joshua’s 13th consecutive heavyweight world title bout as AJ challenges his fellow Brit for the WBC belt for the first time.
Former world champion Joshua has held the WBA, WBO and IBF in his previous reigns. He lost those belts to Oleksandr Usyk last month in Saudi Arabia.
Linear Anthony Joshua
The linear tag of “The Gypsy King” will also be on the line in the December 3 fight.
If Joshua wins, a second “Battle of Britain” fight could happen at Wembley next June or July.
The views expressed in this article are the views of Phil Jay.
WBN editor Phil Jay has over ten years of boxing news experience. Additionally, he follows WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews, Instagram and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
