A blockbuster fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua is back on track.
Or at least back to the headlines.
Talks are underway to resurrect what has long been hailed as the biggest fight in British heavyweight history, both sides have acknowledged to UK media in recent days. Joshua (24-3, 22KOs) would enter as the challenger for Fury’s lineal/WBC heavyweight championship, which is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 17 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
The first round of talks revealed that Joshua’s side was offered, and tentatively accepted, a 60/40 split purse in favor of Fury, along with a rematch clause. There is work to be done, including how to split between broadcasters. Fury fights for BT Sport, while Joshua recently signed a long-term deal with DAZN, although early talks have suggested such matters can be resolved provided Fury is serious about the fight.
For now, Joshua’s side remains interested enough in the fight to play the rope.
“I saw the call and took it with a pinch of salt,” admitted Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s longtime promoter and president of Matchroom Sport, during an extensive interview with IFL TV’s Kugan Cassius. “Two weeks ago, he retired. Ten days ago, he wanted to fight Derek Chisora in December. He then wanted to fight Oleksandr Usyk. So he wanted half a billion or he would never fight again. He then wanted to fight Anthony Joshua. I really don’t trust or believe anything he says. But of course, you have to take it seriously, if you’re serious. We have to explore whether he is or not.
“In essence, we accept the offer. Lots of conversations to have.”
The super fight was previously explored at least three times before and was even agreed upon in its entirety last spring. Joshua held the WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO titles at the time of agreeing terms to face Fury last August for what would have been the undisputed championship. However, those plans were scuttled due to Fury’s inability to extricate himself from a contract-bound trilogy clash with Deontay Wilder (42-2-1, 41KOs), per the terms of their February 2020 rematch.
“Don’t forget we signed for that fight a year ago,” Hearn said. “That fight was stopped due to Wilder arbitration. That had nothing to do with us. We also offered Tyson Fury that fight when he wasn’t a champion. We offered at 60/40. He turned it down and asked for 50/50.”
Fury faced Wilder for the third time, recovering from two knockdowns to score three before knocking out his longtime rival in the 11th round of their Oct. 9 clash that was hailed as the 2021 Fight of the Year.
The fight came two weeks after any hope of an undisputed championship for the whole of the United Kingdom had faded. Joshua suffered the first of two decision losses to Oleksandr Usyk last September 24 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London, once again coming up short in their August 20 rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Watford’s Joshua was set to return in December, likely in a low-level but still high-profile fight given his massive box office presence. The hope was to keep him active and confident in rebuilding towards the long-awaited third championship reign.
The latest social media blitz by Manchester’s Fury (32-0-1, 23KOs) upset those plans.
Fury insisted earlier in the week that he was prepared to make a serious offer to Joshua to immediately challenge him for his lineal/WBC title. The claim was made on the heels of his earlier targeting of an undisputed championship with Ukraine’s Usyk (20-0, 13KOs), which of course followed his most recent retirement announcement.
However, there was reason for optimism once dialogue opened between national promotional rivals Queensberry Promotions, founded by Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren, and Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
“So George Warren approached me,” Hearn revealed, referring to Warren’s son and CEO of Queensberry Promotions. “He said, ‘What do you think?’ The biggest thing for us in the last few weeks is whether AJ would be ready by mid-December, which would be December 17. He believes, the team believes that he will be ready on that date. The first thing for us was that I contacted AJ, Freddie Cunningham at 258. I said, ‘What do you think?’ He said: ‘Of course. I want that fight.'”
Naturally, the first round of talks already comes with a fair amount of posturing. Frank Warren initially proposed a November date, despite Fury stating a day earlier that he was prepared to fight in December. Joshua, through Hearn, insisted that he would be ready to fight on December 17, a date on which Queensberry is still at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff since Fury previously floated the idea of a third fight with Derek Chisora.
Hearn confirmed receipt of an offer from Queensberry for a 60/40 split in favor of Fury, which also includes a rematch clause. Joshua agrees to such terms, with the understanding that the fight will take place in mid-December, while Fury has already taken to social media to insist the fight must take place on November 26 or 3. December, or that it will move to the next.
Instead of reacting, Joshua and his team remain patient as they view this long-sought fight as their top priority.
“I don’t know if this is a play to let this break and then fight someone under par in November or December saying, ‘Well, I tried to get AJ to fight’ or this is to try to fight Usyk. for low money,” Hearn admitted. “There are a lot of people that if they wanted me to fight Usyk in the spring, they wouldn’t want me to fight AJ in December because that would slow things down. Or maybe he just wants the fight.
“So, we’re going through the whole process. All I can tell you at this point is that we accept 60/40. That is great news for everyone. Hopefully we can have those conversations. If they really want the fight, we’re here. Our plan after the Usyk fight was to see AJ fight in December, then March, and then get into a big fight like Fury, Wilder or Dillian Whyte. But, if it is a world heavyweight title shot and a fight that he always wanted, he will do it.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
