Promoter Eddie Hearn says he doubts the heavyweight world-title fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will take place in December given the former’s repeated public comments, but says both Matchroom Boxing and Queensbury Promotions are working hard to get the deal done.
WBC champion Fury, 34, has been increasingly more active on social media this past week, demanding on Monday that fellow Briton Joshua sign the contract for the proposed December 3 bout. Then, on Thursday, Fury said that he had extended the deadline until the end of the day.
Speaking to The National on Thursday evening, as he discussed the world title bout between Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in Abu Dhabi in November, Joshua's promoter Hearn said: “We’re baffled, really. We’re all working hard to try to get the deal done, and all of a sudden we get these imposed deadlines randomly on Instagram, then [Fury's] pulled out of the fight, then he’s offered it to someone else. Then two days later he comes back and says, ‘Actually we’ll give you today’.
“It just doesn’t work like that. We’re all working really hard with [Fury promoter] Queensbury to try to make the fight. We’ve accepted all the terms, but we’ve got to paper it in the correct fashion. It’s the biggest fight in boxing, so it’s going to take a couple weeks to finalise a long-form agreement – that’s not unusual.
“But Tyson Fury says one thing, does another, and we don’t know really where we stand. But we’ll continue to work away and hopefully he’ll allow it to take its course and try to get this on. But I don’t hold my breath.”
Joshua's team have verbally accepted Fury's offer of a 60-40 purse split for December 3, which is expected to be held at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Unbeaten in all 33 bouts as a professional, Fury has held the WBC crown since February 2020. Joshua, meanwhile, failed last month to regain the WBA, WBO and IBF belts in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh, losing via a split decision.
“Obviously, it’s a split in terms of the financials,” Hearn said. “AJ has a number of commercial deals already in place and at the moment we have no say, or no final say, as to any of the deals involved with the shows, which contractually we can’t do.
Gallery: Fury beats Whyte
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Tyson Fury celebrates with his belts after beating Dillian Whyte by sixth-round stoppage. AP -
Tyson Fury celebrates his knockout win over Dillian Whyte to retain his WBC heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, April 23, 2022 as referee Mark Lyson supports Whyte on the ropes. Reuters -
Tyson Fury celebrates with his wife Paris, right, and trainer SugarHill Steward. AP -
Tyson Fury knocks down Dillian Whyte during their WBC heavyweight title fight. AP -
Tyson Fury celebrates after knocking down Dillian Whyte during their WBC heavyweight title fight. PA -
Dillian Whyte is surrounded by his team after his defeat to Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium. PA -
Tyson Fury throws a jab at Dillian Whyte. AP -
Tyson Fury lands a right cross on Dillian Whyte during their WBC world heavyweight title fight. Getty -
Tyson Fury lands a body punch on Dillian Whyte during the WBC world heavyweight title fight. Getty -
Dillian Whyte lands a reaching cross on Tyson Fury during their WBC world heavyweight title fight. Getty -
Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte exchange punches during their WBC world heavyweight title fight. Getty -
Tyson Fury during his ring walk ahead of his WBC heavyweight title fight against Dillian Whyte. PA -
Fireworks are set off during Tyson Fury's ring walk for his WBC heavyweight title boxing fight against Dillian Whyte. AP -
Tyson Fury sits on a throne during his ring walk to face Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium. Getty -
Tyson Fury pumps his arms to the crowd during his ring walk to fight Dillian Whyte. Getty -
Tyson Fury soaks up the cheers from the crowd during his ring walk ahead of his fight against Dillian Whyte. Reuters
“So we’re trying to overcome that. But it’s quite complicated and it involves speaking to a lot of people. Because AJ has always been the owner of his shows ultimately, and now he’s a co-owner of a show with different broadcasters, different sponsors, different promoters. And it’s complicated.
“But we’re all in on it. Queensbury are not putting us under any pressure; they’re not putting deadlines on us. But Tyson Fury pops up and says, ‘You’ve got to sign it today’. We’re going backwards and forwards, so there’s a lot of unrealistic deadlines.
“And I think the public are just starting to see now that, actually, maybe, he’s a little bit all over the place and he’ll end up fighting Manuel Charr in a terrible fight and pretend that it’s all because it’s AJ’s fault.”
On Thursday, in a video on social media directed at Joshua, Fury said: "The ball is in your court, everything is done. We have [broadcasters] BT, DAZN and ESPN all on the same page, they're happy with everything.
“If you have any dignity and pride about you, you'll get this contract signed today. I'm chucking you a massive bone, but I know I can punch your face in so I'm willing to give you an opportunity. Let the British fans have what they want.”
On how confident he was that the fight would happen, Hearn said: “Not very confident. After the last 72 hours, I think it’ll be very difficult to be confident. But we carry on. I’ve got a call with Queensbury after this and we’re trying.
Gallery: first Joshua v Usyk fight
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Oleksandr Usyk after beating Anthony Joshua in their heavyweight title bout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on Saturday, September 25, 2021. Getty -
Anthony Joshua walks away from the ring after losing to Oleksandr Usyk. AP -
Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine celebrates after his unanimous decision victory over Britain's Anthony Joshua. AP -
Oleksandr Usyk throws a punch at Anthony Joshua. AP -
Anthony Joshua on the defensive against Oleksandr Usyk. AP -
Oleksandr Usyk throws a punch at Anthony Joshua. AP -
Anthony Joshua before his fight with Oleksandr Usyk. AP -
Close up of Anthony Joshua's injuries during a press conference after defeat in the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO title fight agianst Oleksandr Usyk. AP -
Oleksandr Usyk celebrates after the fight. Getty -
Oleksandr Usyk celebrates after being crowned the new heavyweight world champion. Getty -
Oleksandr Usyk celebrates with his team in the ring. Getty -
Oleksandr Usyk celebrates. Getty -
Oleksandr Usyk celebrates. Getty -
Oleksandr Usyk celebrates. Getty -
Anthony Joshua following his defeat. Getty -
Oleksandr Usyk punches as Anthony Joshua ducks. Getty Images -
Oleksandr Usyk throws a punch as Anthony Joshua. Getty -
Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua during their title bout. Getty -
Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk during the fight. Getty -
Anthony Joshua after his loss to Oleksandr Usyk. Reuters -
Anthony Joshua lands a punch. Getty -
Anthony Joshua goes on the attack. Getty Images -
Oleksandr Usyk punches Anthony Joshua. Getty -
Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk during the fight. Getty -
A dejected Anthony Joshua walks back to his corner. Getty -
Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk during the fight. Getty -
Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk during the fight. Getty
“But if there’s a deadline that pops up … probably AJ, on Monday, should have turned around after Fury cancelled the fight and gone, ‘We’re moving on’. But we didn’t, we stayed in it, we kept trying. And I expect Fury to come out today and say, 'Right, time up again, I’m fighting Manuel Charr', which will be a huge disappointment for everybody.”
Matchroom Sport chairman Hearn said Queensbury were trying to push through with negotiations, but added that there was no way a deal could be finalised by end of Thursday.
“They know where we are up to in the negotiations and the contracts, so they know we can’t sign today, because we’ve just had their comments [on our contract revisions] back. But they’re trying to get Fury to be reasonable, which is easier said than done.”
Should Fury-Joshua not go ahead, Hearn said the plan would be to get Joshua back into the ring with two fights in relatively quick succession. He cited former WBC champion Deontay Wilder, or British heavyweights Joe Joyce and Dillian Whyte, as potential next opponents.
However, Hearn emphasised that all parties were continuing to attempt to complete the Fury deal, with Joshua already in training.
“He’s keeping himself to himself,” Hearn said. “He just sees the stuff on Instagram, which is generally a sign that you don’t want to do the fight, if you’re coming out and trying to rub people up the wrong way.
“But [Joshua's] training hard. December 3 is never ideal coming off the Usyk fight, but we were told that’s the only option. So he accepted that, he’s in training, and we’ll see what happens.”
Gallery: Fury v Wilder III
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WBC champion Tyson Fury knocks out Deontay Wilder in the 11th round of their incredible heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas in October, 2021. EPA -
Tyson Fury on his way to the ring for his WBC heavyweight title fight with Deontay Wilder at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas on October 9, 2021. AFP -
Deontay Wilder makes his entrance before the fight. Reuters -
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder prepare to fight. Reuters -
Fury in action against Deontay Wilder in round one. Reuters -
Tyson Fury on the front foot. Reuters -
Tyson Fury lands a punch on US challenger Deontay Wilder. AFP -
Tyson Fury on the attack. Reuters -
Deontay Wilder is knocked down by Tyson Fury in the third round. Reuters -
Tyson Fury knocks down Deontay Wilder. Reuters -
Deontay Wilder knocks down Tyson Fury in the fourth round. Reuters -
Tyson Fury reacts after being knocked down by Deontay Wilder. Reuters -
Tyson Fury gets up after he was knocked down twice in the fourth round. AP -
Tyson Fury was in big trouble in the fourth round. Reuters -
Tyson Fury receives attention in his corner. Reuters -
Tyson Fury fights back against Deontay Wilder. EPA -
Deontay Wilder goes down on one knee as the referee holds back Tyson Fury during round six. AFP -
Tyson Fury in action against Deontay Wilder in an incredible fight. Reuters -
The action continued at a frenetic pace as Fury started to edge ahead on the scorecards. AP -
Deontay Wilder swings at Tyson Fury as the battle continuedn into round nine. AP -
Tyson Fury raises his arms after knocking down Wilder in the tenth round - but that wasn't the end. Reuters -
Deontay Wilder is given the count in round ten. Reuters -
WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury knocks out US challenger Deontay Wilder in the 11th round. AFP -
What a fight! Tyson Fury knocks out Deontay Wilder. Reuters -
Tyson Fury KOs Deontay Wilder in the 11th round. AFP -
WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury starts his celebrations. AFP -
WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury after his victory against US challenger Deontay Wilder in the 11th round. AFP -
WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury after his victory against US challenger Deontay Wilder in the 11th round. AFP -
Tyson Fury celebrates after defeating Deontay Wilder to retain his title. AP -
Tyson Fury after winning the fight against Deontay Wilder. Reuters -
Tyson Fury's team celebrate. Reuters -
Tyson Fury gives an interview after the fight. Reuters -
Tyson Fury celebrates with his wife Paris. Reuters -
Tyson Fury poses for a photograph with promoters Frank Warren and Bob Arum, trainer SugarHill Steward, wife, Paris and team during a press conference after Fury won the fight against Deontay Wilder. Reuters -
Tyson Fury poses for a photograph with promoters Frank Warren and Bob Arum, trainer SugarHill Steward and commentator, Crystina Poncher. Reuters -
Tyson Fury during a press conference after winning the fight against Deontay Wilder, as promoter Bob Arum looks on. Reuters -
Promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren. Reuters -
Tyson Fury poses for a photograph with promoters Frank Warren and Bob Arum. Reuters -
Tyson Fury and trainer SugarHill Steward with the belts during a press conference. Reuters -
Tyson Fury speaks on his phone during a press conference after winning the fight against Deontay Wilder. Reuters
