>
Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has sensationally claimed that Tyson Fury offered a fight to Derek Chisora on Wednesday, just 24 hours before the Gypsy King gave AJ another ultimatum to sign the contract for their Battle of Britain fight.
Negotiations over the proposed fight have been underway for the past month, with both sides sometimes claiming confirmation of the conflict was being held up by the other’s camp.
And on Monday, Tyson Fury insisted the fight had been called off after his fellow Brit missed a 5pm deadline to sign the contract with Fury becoming frustrated with what he saw as a lack of movement from Joshua’s camp.
However, he turned around on Thursday and Fury now gave Joshua a new end-of-day deadline to sign the contract for their heavyweight showdown after being convinced by his promoter Frank Warren to give his bitter rival more time.
Tyson Fury reportedly offered a fight with Derek Chisora before giving Anthony Joshua a final deadline to sign the contract for their proposed Battle of Britain fight in Cardiff on December 3.
Joshua’s promoter Hearn also hit back at Fury’s comments over the past week
However, Hearn, in conversation with… Behind the glovesquestioned Fury, revealing that he had allegedly offered the fight.
He said, ‘He just offered a fight to Derek Chisora yesterday and then today he says ‘ok AJ, I’ll give you until today’. It won’t work today.’
Hearn also hit back at the claims Fury has made over the past week.
“To be honest we are quite baffled by this situation,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“First, when we agreed on the terms of the battle, it took us over a week to receive a draft contract. We haven’t had that contract for 14 days.
“Over the past week we’ve worked tirelessly and had some meetings with Queensbury to get the contract into some sort of decent shape.
“Last Monday we sent out our final draft of the contract, only to find that Tyson Fury had publicly withdrawn from the fight and it was no longer on the table.
“We then received comments from Queensbury yesterday regarding a final draft of our agreement, which is now under review.
“I’m not sure why Tyson Fury continues to set unrealistic deadlines while also offering the fight to a number of other heavyweights for the selected date.”
Hearn continued: “If he’s serious about the fight, I suggest he allow Matchroom and Queensbury to keep working hard to make the fight everyone has worked so hard for.
“You can’t publicly pull out of a fight and then resume negotiations when so many positive conversations have been had. We’ll see what happens from here.’
Frank Warren revealed it was Tyson Fury’s idea to give Anthony Joshua only a 40 percent split
Meanwhile, Warren, who spoke earlier on Thursday on… talkSPORTexpressed frustration at the lack of progress in the final contract being signed, claiming that the 60:40 scholarship split in favor of the Gypsy King was a red line to agree to the fight for Fury.
He said: ‘At the end of the day, Anthony Joshua picks up the bills, he’s in charge.
“Instruct your team, as Tyson instructed me. I didn’t want to give him (Joshua) 40%, but Tyson instructed me and that was it. He is the man and he is the one who comes into the ring.
“If Joshua really wants it (the fight), instruct your team or tell us what the problem is, because there is no problem. I thought 60:40 was a little too generous, but Tyson wants to make it happen, he put the money on it and he’s in charge.
After convincing Fury to give Joshua more time to sign the contract, Warren claimed he made the concessions AJ’s team asked for in the contracts to ensure the fight takes place.
He added: “It really comes down to this. Joshua wants the fight or he doesn’t. And it’s that simple!
‘How long can we wait? I persuaded Tyson to give him another 48 hours and we are now Thursday, so we are past the 48 hours.
“Look, we can’t go on forever. Tyson fights whatever on December 3rd and this is the fight we want and the fight we’ve been working hard to get across the line. For my life I don’t know what’s stopping this.
“I don’t know how we’re going to pass today. If that doesn’t allow them to stage the biggest British fight in boxing history, it’s beyond me. I mean, I thought they were powerful promoters. ‘
Earlier this month, Warren said a contract had been sent to Joshua’s team and both sides suggested there was little standing in the way of a full deal.
Joshua immediately said he was interested and instructed his management group 258 and Matchroom to negotiate the terms – with his promoter Hearn confirming they had accepted the 60-40 split.
One stumbling block was the fighters’ respective broadcast deals. Fury’s fights will be broadcast on BT Sport and ESPN in America, while Joshua’s fights will be shown exclusively on streaming app DAZN.
Tyson Fury has given Anthony Joshua a new deadline to sign for their heavyweight showdown
However, the broadcasters have now reached an agreement on the television rights.
In a video earlier on Thursday, Fury revealed that his promoter successfully convinced him to extend the deadline by a few more days, while insisting that AJ still doesn’t have the time.
“Anthony Joshua, where do we start,” Fury said in a video message on Twitter. The deadline was Monday. Frank Warren asked me and convinced me to let it go on for a few more days.
‘Today is Thursday. And even though I knew you weren’t going to sign this contract, I allowed Frank to continue holding meetings with your team and your broadcasters and stuff, and now we have BT, DAZN, and ESPN all on the same page. They are happy with everything. they’re all happy, ready to rock ‘n roll.
‘You have asked many things. You wanted to be a co-promoter if you are a volunteer challenger. Guess what, I said give it to them. Let them be co-promoter.
The Gypsy King claimed on Monday that Joshua missed the deadline to agree on the terms
‘You wanted complete transparency, even if you are not an equal shareholder in this party. Do you know what I said? Give him full transparency. I have nothing to hide. I’m not trying to rob anyone. I’ve never robbed anyone of a cent in my life. So now you have full transparency, everything is clean and fair.’
As the clock ticks, Fury has told Joshua it is now up to him to pull their British battle over the line.
Should it collapse from this point onward, he believes that his domestic enemy will prove himself a ‘great coward’.
Fury added: “The ball is really in your court, son. Everyone is ready. If you were really a man, and you had some dignity and pride about you, you would have this contract signed today.
He was convinced by promoter Frank Warren to give Joshua more time this week to do so
Fury now says his rival can still seal their highly anticipated Battle of Britain clash on Thursday
‘This is it. There are no more days, weeks and months. You’ve had the contract for over two weeks and you still haven’t signed it. Show the public that you really are a big coward – that I know you are – and don’t sign it. I don’t care if you sign it or not, I don’t care.
“You are a defeated man and I am a world champion. I’ll give you a huge bone, but I know I can punch you in the face, so I’m willing to give you a chance.
“There is nothing left to do, everyone is happy, put your team on mine, they will be available all day like they have been for the last two weeks. Get this contract signed today big p**** and give the British fans what they want.
“There’s no running anymore, you have to fight me. You can’t escape. The Fury is coming… B****’.