By Charles Brun: Anthony Joshua surprisingly accepted all the terms given by Tyson Fury to challenge him for his WBC heavyweight title on December 3 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) decided to risk it all by agreeing to fight Fury next, and he might regret that decision.
In addition to the December 3 date, Joshua has also agreed to a 60-40 split and a 50-50 split for the rematch clause, should AJ defeat Fury.
At this point, the last thing to agree on is the transmission agreement. Fury has previously said he would agree to a joint broadcast between BT and DAZN on pay-per-view, but we’ll see if he changes his mind.
If so, Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn will have to decide if they want to give in to Fury’s wishes as they have for the Dec. 3 date and 50-50 rematch clause. Hearn wanted Dec. 17 and a 60-40 split in favor of Joshua for the rematch clause if he beat Fury.
“The only danger is that Tyson could be like the boy who cried wolf,” Johnny Nelson told Sky Sports. “‘I’m serious; I want this fight to happen.
“Both fighters have given their official approval,” Nelson said of Joshua and Fury. “It’s a fun way to negotiate on social media, but both fighters have put their heads on the line.
“Tyson Fury said he would, and Anthony Joshua said he would. So for whatever reason, this fight doesn’t happen; falls on the shoes of the fighters, no one else around him.
“If he was on Anthony Joshua’s team, I probably wouldn’t advise him to do it. It is a great opportunity because the opportunity is there, but it comes from two losses. His head is everywhere.
“Tyson Fury has to be the only fighter that motivates Anthony Joshua to make the decision to say, ‘Yeah, let’s do it. You could say I’ve lost two fights in a row, but this guy [Fury] He is the only person who motivates me to have my head on straight to gain confidence and drive to commit to training until now until December 3; this is the only guy who does it for me because I don’t want to be a boxer who also ran for the crumbs.’”
