Advertisement

Tyson Fury slammed over 'pathetic' Anthony Joshua fight drama

andrew reid
·5-min read
Pictured left to right are British heavyweight boxers Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Tyson Fury says his highly anticipated fight against Anthony Joshua is off because his rival didn't sign the contract in time. Pic: Instagram/Getty

Tyson Fury has felt the wrath of boxing fans after taking to social media to declare that his highly anticipated December bout with Anthony Joshua is "officially over".

The WBC world heavyweight champion called off his proposed 'Battle of Britain' bout with Joshua because his rival didn't sign the contract in time.

INTERESTING: Why SBW has refused to fight NRL icon Paul Gallen

CRAZY: Staggering details emerge after UFC press conference cancelled

Fury had given Joshua a Monday deadline in England to sign the fight deal, before sensationally pulling the pin when the deadline passed.

"It's official, D-Day has come and gone," Fury said on Instagram on Monday.

"No contract has been signed. It's officially over for Joshua. He's now out in the cold... Forget about it.

In the explosive rant on social media, Fury labelled Joshua an "idiot" and a "coward" before claiming that his rival never actually wanted the fight.

"Always knew it. Always knew you didn’t have the minerals to fight the Gypsy King,” Fury continued. “Regardless of what the f*** you say now, I don’t really care. Good luck with your career, and your life. End of. Peace out.”

Joshua says he has every intention of signing the fight contract but is awaiting legal advice before doing so.

“It ain’t in my hands – it’s with a legal team. That’s why you hire lawyers,” Joshua said in an Instagram Live video.

“You know the history of boxing – make sure you get your legal terms right. That’s why you get good management and good lawyers,” he added. “So of course I’m going to sign the contract - it’s just with some lawyers at the minute.”

Pictured left to right, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn and British heavyweight Anthony Joshua.
Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn (L) had already indicated that there was no chance Tyson Fury would have a signed contract by his Monday deadline. Pic: Getty

Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, already indicated there was “no chance” of getting a signed contract to Fury by Monday, with his team already accepting a 60-40 purse split in favour of the champion.

TV executives from BT Sport and streaming service Dazn were scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss broadcasting rights, with Fury's announcement no doubt throwing a spanner in the works of those talks.

Boxing fans turn on Tyson Fury

Fight fans were quick to take Fury to task over what was widely viewed as an unreasonable demand to have the contract signed by Monday.

Many boxing fans argued it was the 'Gypsy King' who was ducking the fight by coming out with a statement branded "pathetic" by some.

Joshua suffered a second consecutive defeat to Usyk in Saudi Arabia last month, and Fury's hopes of a title unification match were dashed after the Ukrainian indicated he does not intend to return to the ring until 2023.

Usyk said after the fight in Jeddah that he was only interested in fighting Fury but media reports have said he will not fight again this year in order to rest and spend time with his family.

When Fury challenged Joshua the champion also said he would select another opponent if his fellow Briton was not interested in the bout.

Mahmoud Charr is looming as a potential alternative opponent for Fury after challenging the Briton on social media.

Fury reposted the German's challenge with a message saying: “If [Joshua] don’t sign today you are in big G and you can show them how a real man throws down!”

with agencies

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.