Frank Warren, co-promoter of WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, has made it crystal clear – Anthony Joshua has until the end of the day to decide whether or not he wants to fight Fury on either November 26th or December 3rd. If not, Fury will move on.
As fans know, Fury has offered AJ 40-percent of the purse, which Eddie Hearn has confirmed has been accepted, but two sticking points are the date of the fight and the purse split regarding the rematch clause; with Fury insistent it should be 50-50 in any return fight, with Joshua and his team saying it should be 60-40 in favour of the winner.
Joshua has got just a few hours to come to an agreement.
Speaking with IFL TV, Warren laid it out:
“It’s a very generous offer. The original offer talked about November 12 because we were trying to get it on at Manchester United but they said they wouldn’t be ready,” Warren said moments ago. “Tyson came back with November 26 and December 3 and they have to pick one of those dates, it’s as simple as that. Today. There is nothing to discuss. The nucleus of the deal shouldn’t be a problem.”
So, will AJ agree? To be honest, it seems doubtful. Joshua will not like being pushed into a corner in this manner any more than Hearn will. But we will see. Like Joshua, Fury has a Plan-B for in case the fight collapses (and maybe it already has). Fury “will fight this year in the UK,” Warren said. Against whom we will have to wait and see (Manuel Charr will be hoping his phones rings).
Joshua’s Plan-B if the big one fails to get done is to fight in December, with Hearn listing the following fighters as possible options: Filip Hrgovic, Zhilei Zhang, Otto Wallin.
Today, then, is crunch-day. AJ hasn’t got long to make up his mind. What do you guys think – will Joshua step forward and agree to fight Fury on either November 26 or December 3? Fingers crossed.