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Anthony Joshua has a clear deadline to accept the terms of his dust-up with Tyson Fury, or the fight will be cancelled.
The Battle of Britain between Joshua and Fury is a showdown boxing fans have longed to see for the best part of a decade, and it seemed they were finally getting their wish when AJ accepted Fury’s callout in April.
Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, signed a contract shortly after, stating that the fight should be held in the UK – and preferably Wembley Stadium – in arguably the biggest and most expensive fight ever.
But Netflix and Turki Alalshikh’s Saudi backers are determined that New York’s Madison Square Garden should be the location, with Joshua’s camp being strongly against the proposal.
Hearn has threatened to pull Joshua out of the fight if it is held outside the UK, and Fury fired an explosive rant at the pair in response, labelling his biggest rival a “coward” before suggesting the possibility of fighting an alternative opponent.
Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, has now given AJ a nine-day deadline to accept terms to fight in America or it will be cancelled, telling the Daily Mail: “Unless AJ commits by the end of next week I’m afraid this will slip away like so many of those great fights which never happened.
“At some point everyone has to say the most important thing is that it happens. Not this bulls*** about money,” Warren continued.
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“That everyone wants the fight. Does AJ really want it? I don’t know. He’s been through that tragedy of the car crash which killed two of his closest friends. Only he knows what he wants.”
Netflix fuelled excitement over the fight by releasing a promotional video on WWE’s Monday Night Raw last week, but now it appears any potential scrap is hanging in the balance, and Fury is already planning for the moment it is cancelled.
The 37-year-old has already accepted there is a huge chance the fight won’t go ahead, fuelling speculation over an alternative opponent for the former two-time heavyweight champion.
Fury is already in training in Miami as he plans to return to the ring regardless in November, with Fury’s cousin, Shane, discussing the prospect of him coming against Agit Kabayel instead.
When quizzed on the topic of Kabayel, Shane told Boxing King Media: “Listen, it ain’t for me to talk about, but either way: we’re there and it’s a big fight. A big, big, big fight. A big fight. How can I say anything, but it’s a big fight. There’ll be someone lined up for a big, big fight – either way, if it’s AJ or not, Tyson’s fighting.
“Tyson’s in training camp with his trainer, his nutritionist, and his thing, and he’s taking it serious. How long have we got left? Twelve, 13 weeks? Whether it’s AJ or not, Tyson will be fighting. We ain’t bothered. We’re gonna be fighting on that date, so I’m told.”
