By Shaun Murphy-
Negotiations for the Tyson fury and anthony Joshua heavyweight boxing showdown is breaking down because of big egos, and a problem in both parties negotiating the fight reasonably.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, today said he was still open to negotiations, but didn’t sound too bothered at the news that the fight may have falen through already. He said he has been told the fight is off, and Derek Chisora has been offered a contract to face Fury on December 3. No official confirmation has yet been received from Chisora’s team.
Fury’s team have complained that Joshua’s team has had over 15 days to sign the contract, and are playing games, revealing some reluctance from Joshua’s team to get the long awaited battle of Britain going.
Hearns says team Fury bnevr expected Joshua’s side to sign the contract, indicating a misleading offer from Fury, an allegation most boxing fans will find difficult to believe.
Fury is widely regarded as the eset heavyweight in the world today. Although the undisputed belts currentl belong to unbeaten olegsander Usyk, Fury an invisible version of all the belts. He is the man to beat.
Boxing fans don’t have any interst in seeing a trilogy between Fury and Chisora, because the gypsy king has already beaten Chisora twice, and the Londoner is not one of the best heavyweights today. Chisora is a good gate keeper of the dicision, perfect for testing up and coming prospects. Fury will deserve criticism if he faces Chisora instead of one of the top contenders in the division.
Offering Chisora the December fight in Place of Joshua shows the Wbc champion sees Joshua as just a warm up fight.
Fury won’t want to take a big risk if Joshua’s fight is off, since he still has his sights in a money spinning unification clash with Olegsander Usyk. Otherwise fight with anothe big name like Andy Ruiz Jnr, or even Britain’s joe Joyce or Dabiel Dubois would be better than Chisora, who may still put up a show. Fury’s last victory against Chisora in 2017 was a one sided beating that saw Chisora stopped in 9 rounds.
Fury has no mandatories after defeating Deontey Wilder a year ago in the U.S.in an all action world championship title fight. Joshua’s side have taken too long to sign, but Fury should still have waited a little longer, but would also want to give a replacement enough time to prepare for a december 3 date. Opponents like andy Ruiz Jnr and Joe Joyce don’t need more than six weeks notice for a fight like this. Fury’s ego may be getitng the better of him, but as undefeated world champion who wants to fight soon, he has no time to waste.
Tyson Fury set Anthony Joshua another deadline last week to sign a contract for December fight. The delay in sending an agreed contract back has led to the view Joshua’s team is avoiding the fight, in the same manner the former undisputed world champion is perceived to have avoided meeting with American Deontey Wilder.
“They gave us terms ultimately and a date they thought we wouldn’t accept. We did accept that. We were ready to go. If they were to sign the contract on Monday, they had a fight. We were asked to agree the deal by Monday, then we were asked to agree it by Wednesday. We got the comments back on Wednesday. We were never going to sign the fight [then], and we were told the fight’s off,” Hearn said.
“It’s still there. It’s still open for discussion. But we’re not going to play a game with a bloke that’s just coming out telling AJ it’s off, and then he’s a dosser, he’s got to sign it, etc.
“Have your fight if you fight someone else, and we’ll do our thing and we’ll see what happens.”
The tone from Joshua’s side appears resigned to missing the opportunity of the big fight, and hoping Fury takes the blame for it.
Some commentators believe a contract between DAZN and Joshua is the real problem, in terms of fear that huge investments could be lost if as expected Fury .
Agreeing a fight against Fury coming off two back to back losses against Usyk is a difficult call for anybody in Joshua’s position, given the multi millions he has in his bank already, and the fact he realistically has more to loose than gain in this fight.THe fight will earn an awful amount of money for both men, but Joshua’s reputation would be dead and buried once Fury in his usual manner embarassed the former undispited workd heavyweight champion with a one sided beating.
Only if Joshua genuinely is confident in his chances of victory will he loose no sleep over taking a fight like this without any warm up fights. The Londoner would have to be at his very best in the ring to even have a chance of victory. He would have to do a lot better than he did against Usyk , andadopt a more attacking mode for most of the fight, giving his big punch a chance to be decisive.
The appeal of the Fury and Joshua clash is no longer as big as it was before Joshua lost to Usyk, but it’s still a big fight because the two men are the biggest names in british boxing, and the best heavyweights in the country.