Tyson Fury has claimed his fight with Anthony Joshua is in danger of being called off, just days after it was officially announced. The long-awaited Battle of Britain is scheduled for 11 December at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, with the bout set to be streamed live on Netflix.
The official announcement came through on Wednesday, with a press conference planned in London next week. However, developments overnight have left the fight in serious jeopardy once again.
Replacement fights being considered
Mike Coppinger of the Ring Magazine reports the fight could be called off due to 'issues', with a replacement fight between Terence Crawford and Ryan Garcia being considered. Fury fighting unified cruiserweight champion David Benavidez is also an option being considered.
While Coppinger provided no details on what was jeopardising the fight, the involvement of Dana White in the fight as a promoter and Eddie Hearn's insistence that the American is not involved is thought to be the cause of the issue. Wednesday's fight announcement stated Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi boxing kingpin financing the fight, and White were staging the bout. Hearn, who has promoted Joshua for his entire professional career, has publicly claimed the UFC president cannot be involved.
Fury blames Hearn and Joshua
In videos shared on social media overnight, Fury confirmed there is a serious threat to the fight going ahead, blaming Joshua and Hearn. 'Breaking news, AJ and Eddie are trying to pulling out of the fight,' Fury said in a video shared on Instagram.
'It's mainly to do with Eddie Hearn's ego. He's making up a million different things. AJ, pull your finger out you little white-flagged, yellow-bellied coward. Now you've got Turki Alalshikh finding alternative real men who will fight at the drop of a hat. So I hope you are happy you cowardly b*****ds.'
In a second video, Fury added: 'So Eddie Hearn's ego is trying to cost us and all the boxing fans around the world, the fight the whole world has been waiting for over decade. And it is all because Eddie doesn't want someone in the building. It's pathetic and childish. He doesn't want him in the building, like he's nine year-old. You silver-spooned w****r.
'And Joshua, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. I've agreed to fight different locations for you. I had a contract, if I had stuck to that contract there would have been no fight. But I'm a fighting man. That's the difference. You little cowards.'
Fury also shared a fight poster for a proposed bout between him and Benavidez on the same date in Cardiff.
