Boxing
Tyson Fury brands Anthony Joshua ‘a coward’ as fight negotiations continue
Tyson Fury has accused Anthony Joshua of being a coward as the wait for confirmation of their all-British blockbuster bout goes on.
Fury taunted his would-be opponent in a video on his Instagram story on Wednesday, having posted a mock-up of a poster a day earlier showing himself and Joshua facing off above the words ‘New York City’.
New York’s Madison Square Garden is widely expected to be announced as the venue despite Joshua’s camp preferring Wembley Stadium as Sela, the Saudi state-owned promotional company financing the fight, wants a bigger American audience on Netflix.
“Joshua, where are you? Still no deal done. It’s getting quite tiring,” Fury said.
“I’ve been down to fight every location that’s been mentioned – England, Ireland, Vegas, New York, back to England, back to Ireland, back to New York. Listen, I’ve said yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, every single time. Zero stipulations.
“The facts are I feel like you’re being a coward. I feel like you don’t want the fight and you’re just conning everybody. I feel like you’ve been doing that for years.
“You’ve had many opportunities to fight me, but deep down you’ve never really wanted it, so let’s see if you’re going to man up for a final time.
“We’re both f****** 37, 38 years old – let’s f****** fight. It’s a boxing match and you’ve been banjoed before plenty of times. You’ve been knocked spark out a few times. So what?
“What’s the worst that can happen? I’m going to f****** chin you, 100 per cent, but it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before!”
Joshua’s promotor, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, has said an agreement hinges on his client’s net purse but Fury’s representative Frank Warren was unequivocal his man is already committed.
“It is signed by Tyson. Tyson is signed up for the fight and agreed for the fight,” he told Sky Sports News.
“He’s signed for it. One hundred per cent. We’re just waiting for AJ. I can’t speak for him, he’s with Matchroom.”
Warren said the location is not important, adding: “That’s up to the people putting up the money. Tyson just wants to get on.”
He also turned on those who have criticised his fighter Moses Itauma, who lost his IBF world heavyweight title challenge after a ninth-round stoppage by Filip Hrgovic at the O2.
Defending his 21-year-old prospect, he said: “They all come with their knives out afterwards. Before the fight there wasn’t anyone who tipped Hrgovic to win, other than Hrgovic’s team.
“No-one said this is too soon. Everyone saying this stuff, they’re all after-timers. He’s very, very disappointed but you can expect that, he really felt it was going to be his fight but it wasn’t to be.
“We can’t change it, all we can do is learn from it. There are lot of things we need to tweak, to put right, and I genuinely believe he will go on to become a world champion and hold the title.”
