Former WBA regular heavyweight champion Mahmoud Charr has told Tyson Fury to sign a contract to fight him on December 3.
The German-based Lebanese fighter has been vocal on social media, going back and forth with “The Gypsy King” for the past few weeks.
At the same time, Fury offered Anthony Joshua a WBC title fight on the same date.
Skeptics of Fury vs Joshua believe that Charr is Fury’s true target at the end of the year, as the lineal ruler has fought three main matches in a row.
Fury has twice defeated Deontay Wilder and Dillian Whyte, easily beating both of them in two of those fights. Despite that fact, the 34-year-old is now linked to Charr.
If the Joshua fight falls through over contract differences on Monday, many see the Charr event being announced on Tuesday.
Time is running out fast, and Charr wants to make a deal as quickly as possible.
Fury vs Charr
“First of all, if Fury fights AJ next, it’s not good for boxing. AJ is mentally broken. He needs to bounce back from two losses to him,” Charr told Sky Sports.
“If Eddie Hearn accepts this fight vs. Fury, Eddie has to change business [from promoting]. I think Fury will give AJ a bad knockout [because of] your mental position now.
“Everyone knows that Fury promised more than once to fight me. If he is the real Spartan, he must fight the real Superman. It’s me.”
He continued: “I am coming off a five win match [run, including a victory over Christopher Lovejoy]. God gave me another chance to live.
“Everyone knows that I come from a shot in the stomach and two hip operations. Never forget seven months later, I became the first Arab. [secondary] heavyweight champion in the world.
“This story is the same as Fury’s, not giving up and fighting for the legacy. I want Fury next. Have no fear, Spartan. Accept my challenge!”
“You don’t need to contact me. I’m ready today, tomorrow, whenever they want me.
“But this matter is between me and Fury, not between our teams. Fury, you have my number. Call me and sign the paper!”
joshua contract
The ball in a Tyson Fury fight is in Joshua and Hearn’s court. They have received documents from Fury’s team over the past few days.
Joshua has until the end of Monday’s trades to complete, or Charr will enter the equation.
Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn is already aware that they must move quickly despite believing the contract needs more work.
“We have to move fast because I am worried that Mahmoud Charr will come out, saying that he will fight Tyson Fury on December 3.
“Again, all they tell me at this point is that they want to make the fight. If they do, we’re ready to try and make it happen,” Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky on Thursday.
The Essex man has since told Joshua that it is impossible to get the deal done quickly. However, AJ objected to his promoter and stated that he intended to sign the deal before Fury’s deadline.
Who will Tyson Fury fight next?
Fury has limited options, with an uncontested battle with Oleksandr Usyk seemingly off the menu for him. Usyk’s victory over Joshua last month in Saudi Arabia meant the Ukrainian wanted to take a break from the sport.
However, the WBA, IBF and WBO belt holder stated that he will put those plans on the shelf if Fury accepts a deal.
Currently, the most likely matchup remains Fury vs Charr, simply because UK fans don’t seem to be so lucky when it comes to the massive Battle of Britain encounter.
A BT Sport and DAZN Pay Per View remove Sky Sports Box Office from future deal. With Sky paying the most money for Usyk vs Joshua 2, talks are due to take place on Monday before finalizing the fight every UK fan wants by the end of the year.
If Joshua can postpone an upset, a rematch at Wembley between April and June 2023 will be on the cards.
Both fighters can make close to nine figures from a two-fight British heavyweight saga.
WBN editor Phil Jay has over ten years of boxing news experience. He follows WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews, Instagram and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
