Tyson Fury insisted Monday night that he has moved on from what would be a lucrative showdown with Anthony Joshua to a much lower-profile fight against Mahmoud Charr.
The unbeaten WBC heavyweight champion claimed in one Instagram post Monday that the deadline Fury imposed for his handlers and those that represent Joshua to come to an agreement for a December 3 bout at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, passed at 5 p.m. BST. That left him little choice, according to Fury anyway, but to proceed to his second option, Germanyâs Charr.
Representatives for Frank Warrenâs Queensberry Promotions, which co-promotes Fury along with Bob Arumâs Top Rank Inc., and Eddie Hearnâs Matchroom Boxing, had constructive conversations Monday regarding the complicated television and streaming partnership that would be required to broadcast and stream a Fury-Joshua fight in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) is aligned with BT Sport in the UK and ESPN in the U.S. Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) has a multi-fight contract with DAZN, though Sky Sports Box Office televised his second unanimous-decision defeat to Oleksandr Usyk as a pay-per-view main event August 20 in the UK and Ireland.
Though the two sides held out hope Monday night that they could finalize a deal, Fury contended that he is now focused on facing Charr.
âWell, guys, itâs official â D-Day has come and gone,â Fury said in a video posted to his Instagram account Monday. âItâs gone past 5 oâclock Monday [in the UK]. No contract has been signed [by Joshua]. Itâs officially over for Joshua. He is now out in the cold, with the wolfpack. Forget about it. Idiot! Coward! Always knew he didnât have the minerals to fight âThe Gypsy King.â Good luck with your career and your life. End of [story]. Peace out.â
Fury questioned Joshuaâs heart and later wrote in another Instagram post, âif i give a sucker a chance @ the bigtime i expect them to sign when told to! #nuffsaid.â
After suffering back-to-back losses to Usyk, Joshua reportedly has agreed to a 60-40 purse split that would favor Fury in what would still be considered the biggest fight in British boxing history. Fury will undoubtedly make a lot less money to battle Charr, but the Manchester native is determined to box before the end of this calendar year.
The 34-year-old Fury wants to square off against Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs), but their full heavyweight title unification fight will have to wait at least until sometime in the spring because Usyk has said he needs time for his body to heal before he enters the ring again. Ukraineâs Usyk, 35, owns the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles Fury won from another Ukrainian, Wladimir Klitschko, in November 2015 and later vacated.
The 37-year-old Charr, who was previously known as Manuel Charr, once owned the WBA world heavyweight title.
He has sued promoter Don King and the WBA because Charr alleged that he never received the shot at the WBAâs âsuperâ heavyweight title that he was promised. Charr, who was born in Lebanon, has boxed just twice since November 2017 in large part due to the circumstances that eventually led to the aforementioned legal entanglement.
Charr (33-4, 19 KOs) has won five fights in a row, but he has been beaten by knockout or technical knockout by former heavyweight champions Vitali Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin and ex-cruiserweight champ Mairis Briedis in a heavyweight fight. He would be a huge underdog if he fights Fury, who has stopped former WBC champ Deontay Wilder twice and Dillian Whyte in his past three fights.
âLooking forward to fighting a man who wants to fight & has fire & desire,â Fury wrote in an Instagram post in reference to Charr. âFought some of the best fighters & now stepping up again! Get in there Charr.â
By Keith Idec