Anthony Joshua’s management team have claimed terms are now agreed with Tyson Fury for the pair’s long-awaited heavyweight clash, which is set to take place on 3 December.
Joshua’s company, 258, said they are awaiting a response from the WBC champion but had “accepted all terms presented to us by Fury’s team”, adding that talks had been delayed since last week due “due to the Queen’s passing“.
Promoter Frank Warren, who handles Fury’s business in the UK, has promised Joshua will be handed a contract soon. Cardiff’s Principality Stadium is being widely touted as the venue.
A December date would avoid clashing with other significant sporting events, though it would still coincide with the knockout stages of the Qatar World Cup. An initial date proposed was 17 December, the day before the World Cup final, and was also set to take place in the Middle East. A February date was also explored, but to the US market that is Super Bowl season.
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“Terms agreed” does not necessarily mean the fight will go ahead regardless, even if a date and venue have been pencilled in.
Last summer, a provisional date of 14 August in Saudi Arabia was set, but the bout collapsed when Fury became involved in a protracted saga over the completion of his trilogy with Deontay Wilder.
In 2018, Joshua had also agreed terms with Wilder but their showdown never materialised, largely due to negotiations over the purse split.
As a result, fans will be wary that there is still a long way to go before one of the most anticipated all-British clashes in history can be officially confirmed.
Just weeks ago, Warren had said Fury would be fighting Oleksandr Usyk after the Ukrainian’s second victory over Joshua – and a unification bout made sense, with Joshua scuppering the chance to regain his IBF, WBA and WBO belts.
Indeed it says everything about the public demand for this fight that it is still on the cards for AJ, who might otherwise be entertaining middle-ranking fights with the likes of Wilder or Dillian Whyte.
Once, it would have settled the debate surrounding the pre-eminent British heavyweight of the era, but Joshua’s recent record – with three defeats in four, including one knockout to Andy Ruiz Jr and two by comprehensive unanimous decisions to Usyk – have dampened his prospects of seriously wrangling for that crown.
However, a fight with Fury has never been out of the question for as long as the “Gypsy King” held onto his WBC belt, which he has not vacated despite reiterating that he had retired after knocking out Whyte at Wembley Stadium in April.
The WBC insisted there was “no hurry” for him to make a final decision on his future, giving him until 26 August to formally vacate his title – a deadline which they have been reluctant to enforce.
Is Eubank Jr vs Benn off?
Boxing fans are already anticipating another all-British grudge match when Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr take to The O2 on 8 October, and Wasserman have insisted that fight remains on despite claims to the contrary by Eubank’s father, Chris Eubank Sr.
The pair will reignite their fathers’ three-decade feud at catchweight, but in an interview with the Daily Mail Eubank Sr had said he feared his son’s life was “in danger”.
“I’ve already lost one son,” he said of Eubank Jr fighting below 160lb. “I can’t lose another.”
In response to rumours that Eubank had subsequently pulled his son out of the fight, Benn had mocked him by claiming he was “grounded” in a social media post on Monday night.
