A fight pitting the United Kingdom’s two biggest boxing stars, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, is actually building legitimate traction towards happening later this year. However, in a total “that’s boxing” moment, there remains a key stumbling block in the early negotiations.
A few weeks ago, the idea of a “Battle for Britain” clash between Fury and Joshua was something on the mind of many fight fans. It was a fight many have clamored for over the last few years, yet something always got in the way beyond the usual difficulties of booking big bouts in boxing.
For Fury, his legendary trilogy of bouts with former heavyweight king Deontay Wilder kept him busy for the better part of the last three years. In the case of Joshua, surprise defeats to Andy Ruiz in 2019 and then last year to Oleksandr Usyk undercut fan desire for Fury vs Joshua. However, the possibility of a bout seemed to be renewed with “The Gypsy King” pushing for it in the lead up to Joshua’s August opportunity at revenge in a rematch with Usyk.
Joshua came up short again versus the Ukrainian star by unanimous decision. Nevertheless, with Fury at a point in his career where he is looking for matchups that inspire him, he has not relented on his desire for a fight with Joshua. On Tuesday, Fury posted a video on his social media accounts offering a 60-40 fight purse split. Well, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn revealed that real discussions have started between reps for both sides to make a fight happen.
Fight date is the latest stumbling block in Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua negotiations
Earlier today, Marcos Villegas of Fight HubTV reported that both sides seem to be close but a new issue has arisen.
“Just finished speaking to Eddie Hearn. Confirmed that he did receive terms from Fury/[Promoter Frank Warren] for Fury/Joshua fight – 60/40 split for Dec 17th at Millennium stadium with a rematch clause. Eddie told me ‘We accept’ but noted Fury/Warren offered Nov 12th as the date for the fight.”
Considering the fact that Joshua and his camp have little leverage in the situation, and Fury is giving them a major lifeline by still wanting the fight in spite of Joshua’s recent loss, a month difference in date should not be enough to sink negotiations.
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