By Sam Volz: Promoter Frank Warren says Tyson Fury can’t take the December 17th fight requested by Anthony Joshua because he has the Oleksandr Usyk undisputed clash he needs to prepare for in February or March.
For that reason, Fury wants a quick answer from Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs), setting a deadline of today for him to agree or disagree on his two dates of November 26th or December 3rd.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has already said they want the December 17th date for the fight. So unless AJ & Hearn are willing to budge on that date, the fight with Fury won’t happen this year.
It’s really not a big deal if Joshua doesn’t fight Fury in December, as the fight will be there for him in 2023, regardless of the outcome of his clash with unified heavyweight champion Usyk.
The deadline that WBC champion Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) is giving Joshua for today seems kind of harsh, as it suggests that he feels his championship status puts him well above the former champ.
Unfortunately for Fury, his championship status means very little in this era of boxing, as what matters now is who puts backsides in the seats and sells PPVs. Joshua is still arguably above Fury in those categories.
I don’t think Joshua’s self-esteem has sunken to the depths to where he’s going to let Fury boss him out like this with his deadlines and dates for the fight.
If Fury values the Joshua fight, he’ll agree to the December 17th date, as well as the 60-40 split that his promoter Hearn is asking for the rematch.
“The offer is there, and we need an answer quickly because Tyson has told me this morning again if they do not come back with the thumbs up, then we move on,” said Frank Warren to iFL TV about the November 26th or December 3rd dates they want Anthony Joshua to agree to.
“He wants to make sure there’s no problems for the Usyk fight in February or March, and he needs a decent run-up,” said Warren. “He doesn’t want to do it late in December.
“That’s why he wanted to do it earlier. He’s not going to push it back any further. I don’t think he can anyway because of the situation with Usyk. There’s obviously only a small window to get that fight on as well,” said Warren.
