Tyson Fury could move on from his fight with Anthony Joshua if an agreement has not been made by the end of next week. The pair came to verbal blows back in April after Fury's comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov. While Joshua refused to enter the ring and face off with his long-time rival, both men signed to fight on the dotted line just days later.
But they were both tasked with coming through respective warm-up fights first. Last month, Fury forced Polish boxing veteran Mariusz Wach to quit on his stool in a behind-closed-doors fight in Thailand, while a day later, Joshua survived two knockdowns to stop Kristian Prenga.
Venue dispute and contract terms
They are due to fight later this year, but a venue has yet to be set. Their contract is said to stipulate a stadium in the United Kingdom. However, it is believed there is a push for the fight to take place at Madison Square Garden, New York. Broadcasters Netflix and the fight's Saudi backers are spearheading the change in location.
Fury is currently training in Miami ahead of his third fight this year, and Queensberry supremo Frank Warren has revealed there is a time limit for an official announcement on a fight between the two British boxing icons. Should the fight fail to come to fruition, Warren admits he still expects the 'Gypsy King' to fight in November.
Warren's comments on the deadline
“Nothing’s been signed off as yet,” Warren told reporters, including Mirror Fighting, during a media roundtable on Wednesday afternoon. “Everybody’s talking and talking rather than getting on with the business and getting it done. I think it will happen and if it doesn’t, and I think there’s a time limit on it, by the way, it will be one of those fights that slipped by.
“If it happens, I think it will be in November and, in all probability, in the States. Tyson went over the weekend to Miami, which is where he’s training. So one way or another, he’s going to fight in November. Hopefully, it’s against AJ.” When pressed on the time limit, Warren revealed: “I should think they won’t let it go past the end of next week.”
Joshua's intentions questioned
Warren was then asked for his gut feeling on whether Joshua actually wants the fight. “There’re a lot of things I can’t say at the moment. Do I think so? I don’t know. He had a hard fight last time, didn’t he? Came through at the end. But he did have a hard fight. Does he want it? He’s the only one who knows that. He says he does,” he said.
The legendary promoter added: “They’re quite right. They signed for a contract for the fight to take place in the UK. Tyson also didn’t sign up for America, but he’s willing to fight there. In his words: ‘Get the politics and all this crap out of the way. Let’s get the fight on.’ He signed for that fight last January, and unfortunately, AJ’s tragic accident put it back. So whether AJ fights Tyson is down to AJ. No one else has any say over that.
“But I’m confident that Tyson will fight [in November]. He’s in training. Eddie has come out and said what they want. I don’t know what the monetary situation is but, whatever it is, everyone’s got to make their mind up – otherwise move on.”
Warren concluded: "I can tell you categorically I'm confident that Tyson will fight wherever it takes to fight. He's training for that, he's in training, he's gone to America, he has come out and he has said that. I can tell you that is the case. Eddie's come out and said what he's said and what they want and so forth. Some of that stuff, you know, flights and tickets and that, they're not even an issue. I don't know what the monetary situation is, but whatever it is, everyone's got to make their mind up, otherwise move on."
