You’ll believe it when you see it, right?
Last week, when WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury threw down the gauntlet to countryman Anthony Joshua for a year-end showdown, there was reason to be cynical. In fact, one could be forgiven for falling over laughing.
Well, not so fast! A British superfight on December 3 is still in the works.
The following is a public tweet, sent on Tuesday, from Joshua’s management company, 258:
Joshua-Fury update:
“258 and @MatchroomBoxing can confirm, on behalf of @anthonyjoshua, that we accept all terms presented to us by the Fury team for a fight on Friday, December 3. Due to the death of the Queen, it was agreed to suspend all communication. We are waiting for a response.”
Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren’s immediate response was short and sweet:
“The contract will be with you very soon.”
We’ve been down this road before, but this is as encouraging as it gets.
So why is everyone so pessimistic?
Well, five months from now, the undefeated Fury retired, called out Derek Chisora, retired again, vacated the Ring championship, announced he was coming back, and challenged Joshua. When you write about the current state of Fury, you keep an eye on the news in case it changes again.
Joshua, a two-time heavyweight champion, lost to Oleksandr Usyk for the second time on August 20. The former Olympic champion was much more effective than he had been in the first fight, but it was not enough to secure victory. Having lost three of his last five fights, one would have expected a slow rebuild. Well, it doesn’t sound like that’s what AJ wants.
For now at least, it looks like Fury and Joshua are on the same page in terms of finalizing their long-awaited clash.
