Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua still stuck in contract limbo

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua remain stuck in the same stalemate that has kept them apart for a decade.

After Fury beat Arslanbek Makhmudov on points at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11, he leaned over the ropes and waved Joshua toward the ring. Joshua, seated ringside, did not budge. Another chapter in a rivalry defined more by posturing than punches. As the BBC first reported, Team Fury now claims the contract is signed on their end while Joshua has yet to put pen to paper. Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh had spoken as if an announcement was imminent, but Netflix jumped the gun by posting that the all-British bout was set for autumn, prompting promoter Frank Warren to shoot it down.

Fury says it is Joshua next or nothing

Backstage, Fury made his position clear. "He didn't want the smoke," he told reporters, per the BBC. "If it was me, I'd have jumped in the ring. Ten years in the making and still there's uncertainty if it's going to happen next." He added that he has a three-fight deal for the year but wants only one opponent. "If it isn't AJ next, I'm not interested in boxing again. It's either him or I'm gone."

Joshua has reasons to take his time. A December car accident that killed two close friends left him dealing with trauma outside the ring. He last faced elite opposition over 18 months ago, while Fury just logged 12 rounds against a dangerous — if limited — puncher in Makhmudov. An interim fight could give Joshua rhythm without the suffocating spotlight a Fury build-up brings.

The sport already lived through the cautionary tale of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, a fight that shattered records but felt five years too late. Fury-Joshua belonged to 2019 or maybe 2021. Now the question is whether it happens at all before both men walk away. Croke Park, with its 80,000-plus capacity, has emerged as a possible venue if the two sides can ever agree on terms.

Source: bbc.com