Tyson Fury has claimed he has signed a contract to box Anthony Joshua, but that “AJ” has not done the same.
On Saturday night, Fury emerged from his fifth retirement from boxing, outpointing Arslanbek Makhmudov in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
And Joshua was sat in the front row, so it was no surprise that he was the subject of a callout from Fury after the latter’s hand was raised.
It was expected that Joshua, 36, would enter the ring to face off with his fellow Briton, 37, but AJ declined to do so, and his response to Fury’s callout was spoiled by a faulty microphone.
Still, Joshua could be heard suggesting that the Fury fight was not yet a done deal, something that the “Gypsy King” confirmed at the post-fight press conference.
“I’ve signed, done,” Fury claimed. “It doesn’t really matter how many fights it is [on that deal], let’s just get one done.
“He was brought here tonight, ringside, for a reason: to get the fight done. I signed months ago, I don’t know if he’s signed, and by the looks of it, he’s not gonna.
“He didn’t want it, he was shellshocked, he didn’t know what to say. If it was me, I’d have jumped in the ring, faced off, let’s get it on.
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“After all this time, there’s still uncertainty about is this fight gonna happen next. I can’t do anymore. I know one thing, he wasn’t saying ‘yes’.”
Pressed on financial details, Fury said, “I don’t know [what the purse split is], I’m not interested in all that bulls***. If he gets £600m, good luck to him, and if I get 50p, good luck to me.”
Meanwhile, Fury’s promoter Frank Warren and manager Spencer Brown insisted that no talks had taken place with Wembley Stadium officials.
Yet Netflix tweeted, perhaps prematurely, that the fight is a done deal and will stream live on the platform in autumn, with the bout taking place in the UK.
Fury concluded: “I want three fights this year, no matter who it is.”
