Tyson Fury ‘moving on’ from Anthony Joshua fight if contract not signed before deadline
Joshua’s camp have been sent an ultimatum to finalise the paperwork for the proposed bout by Monday evening
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tyson Fury has warned Anthony Joshua he is ready to walk away from a super fight if he misses today’s deadline, with Manuel Charr floated as a contingency option.
The WBC world heavyweight champion has been verbally sparring with the former title holder as negotiations continue over arguably the biggest fight in British boxing history.
And Fury has now threatened to spike the fight if Joshua does not return the contract signed by 5pm on Monday, while goading his rival by labelling him as a “big body building p***y”.
Fury said: “Today is D Day people, are you [Joshua] going to sign the contract you big p***y or are you not going to sign it?
“When Wilder sent me the contract for Wilder 1, I signed it within 24 hours because I wanted to smash his face in. You've had the contract for 10 days now, b***h, still not signed it.
“If it's not done by 5pm today, GK [Gypsy King] is moving on.”
The threat comes after Joshua maintained “of course” he will sign the contract for the proposed world heavyweight title clash despite promoter Eddie Hearn claiming there is “no chance” it will be done by Monday.
Fury sent Joshua’s camp the ultimatum on Friday night, with Charr, ranked 19th by the WBC, a potential fallback option for his next title defence.
Speaking on an Instagram Live on Sunday afternoon, Joshua said: “It ain’t in my hands – it’s with a legal team. That’s why you hire lawyers.
“You know the history of boxing – make sure you get your legal terms right. That’s why you get good management and good lawyers. So of course I’m going to sign the contract – it’s just with some lawyers at the minute.”
Television executives from BT Sport and streaming service Dazn are scheduled to meet on Monday, with Joshua’s team having already verbally accepted Fury’s offer of a 60-40 purse split.
But Hearn told the Seconds Out YouTube channel: “There is no chance this fight will get signed by Monday. There is no need for this fight to get signed by Monday.
“If he doesn’t (want to fight Joshua), and I guess he doesn’t, then he’ll do what he’ll do and the fans might even fall for it.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments