Tyson Fury upset, says fight with Anthony Joshua may not last

Tyson Fury has cast doubt on the highly anticipated fight between himself and Anthony Joshua, saying “it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen”.

The champion in a social media outburst aimed at Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn insinuated the pair were “money hungry”.

The two fighters are expected to meet in November in one of the biggest fights in British boxing history, but uncertainty over the venue has thrown the deal into further doubt, as Joshua’s camp has signed off on the fight to be held in the UK while Saudi organizers are pushing for a move to the United States.

“It looks like they won’t sign the fight and it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen, all because of Eddie Hearn and that wanting more money,” Fury said in a series of Instagram posts, before branding Joshua and Hearn as “disgusting” and “money hungry”.

“That’s just the way it is. Same old cliché a decade later. Keep running, you little cowards,” he added, later calling Hearn a “bag carrier” and insisting that Joshua “never had the guts” to fight him.

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Both fighters have separate contracts with Saudi-owned Sela, and Madison Square Garden in New York is said to be the organizer’s preferred venue so the fight, which will be broadcast on Netflix, can cater to an American audience.

Hearn has since confirmed he has sent Sela a list of proposed changes, mainly around increasing compensation for Joshua given the different tax implications of fighting in America, as well as practical issues such as travel, accreditation and media arrangements.

“In layman’s terms, by staging the fight in America, Anthony Joshua receives less money than if the fight were in England, where he is contractually agreed to be,” Hearn said, adding that Sela had not yet responded.

The story was further complicated by the emergence of Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, which is co-owned by Sela and TKO Group Holdings, with Hearn accusing the pair of convincing Saudi officials that the fight would have greater appeal in America.

But Fury said he would welcome White’s involvement on his side in the talks, and insisted there was still strong support from the British boxing world for the fight to take place in England.