Teddy Atlas says Tyson Fury has picked out the fighter that can bring him the most amount of money for his next fight by choosing Anthony Joshua.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren made an offer to Joshua for a fight in November in the UK. Tyson says the split is 60-40, but it remains to be seen if Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn will agree to the deal.
Atlas feels that the fans are still with Joshua in the UK, as they like a good loser and don’t abandon their fighters.
If Joshua does agree to the deal, Fury is going to make a lot of money out of this match, and likely more than he would have gotten had he fought Oleksandr Usyk.
“The challenge that Fury made to Joshua, there used to be a saying where ‘to the victor goes the spoils.’ In this case, the guy that comes in second goes the spoils,” said Teddy Atlas on The Fight.
“Usyk is not available right now, so it’s a good business decision on Fury’s part. You got to the guy that maybe he doesn’t think that could be an easy fight, but to the guy [Joshua] that can bring the most money.
“It’s good business. It’s smart. Joshua, the English people, and I’ve said this before, and people get a little upset. You don’t have the NBA, football [NFL].
“You’ve got soccer, the biggest sport in the world, but you don’t have American football, you don’t have [MLB] baseball, you don’t have the NBA or all those other things going on there [in the UK].
“You don’t have the competition with Tom Bradey, Lebron James, or Tiger Woods. So they can make their fighters Gods, they can make them huge, and they do. They like a good loser.
“They like a gracious guy. Joshua is an Olympic gold medalist; even though I called the fights, and I’ve said it before, I stay consistent whether people like it or not.
“I called the fights when he fought in London, and he [Joshua] lost that gold medal match to the Italian [Roberto Cammarelle]. It was in London and there was no way he was not going to get it.
“He got it. Listen, he knocked out Charles Martin, who’s not on anybody’s list of great fighters. He knocked him out to win the title. He being Joshua, and he’s been an overrated guy.
“I can’t say it clearer and give you more reason for it. Who’s he ever beaten? Let’s be honest. When he’s fought that realm of guys, he’s lost. Not only lost, but lost by knockout.
“The last two against Usyk, he got hurt, but he didn’t get knocked out. He showed heart, but he lost by a decision.
“But he got knocked out by Ruiz, who took the fight on last-minute notice. Ruiz can fight. We just talked about that. He did take the fight on two weeks’ notice, and he was the way he usually is, heavy.
“I really believe Joshua has always been overrated, but what matters in the business of this sport and the business of anything is who can bring in the most money.
“He can bring in the most money because people in England, they love his manners, they love his size, they love that he represents them.
“They’re familiar with him because there’s no one else out there that they really have in their sporting lives. There’s no Brady’s; there’s no Woods; there’s no Lebron James. He’s their guy, and they support him, and they’re loyal to him. I applaud that.
“But I tell you, there are guys out there more deserving probably of a title fight, but they’re not going to bring the cash. They’re not going to bring the Benjamins the way Joshua will, and it’ll be a huge fight.
“The guy has lost two in a row, the guy being Joshua. If they fight Fury like they say in the movie Jaws, they’re going to have to find a bigger boat. They’re going to have to find a bigger stadium than Wembley. That’s how big the thing would be. Whether it’s fair or not fair, it’s called money,” said Atlas.
