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Furious Fury says row between rival promoters could scupper Joshua bout / Photo: © AFP
Furious Fury says row between rival promoters could scupper Joshua bout
An angry Tyson Fury said Saturday his long-awaited 'Battle of Britain' bout with fellow former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is at risk because of a row between rival promoters.
The much-anticipated clash was announced earlier this week, with Cardiff's Principality Stadium set to stage what could be the most lucrative fight in British boxing history on December 11.
After months of negotiations that threatened to scupper the fight as Fury called for a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, Saudi Arabian boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh announced the venue and date for the bout on Thursday.
The event, which will be broadcast on Netflix, was confirmed as a collaboration between Alalshikh's The Ring and UFC president Dana White.
But Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, has been in dispute with White and says the UFC chief's involvement represents a breach of contract.
Fury, however, believes this is simply an excuse for Joshua to withdraw.
"Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn are trying to pull out of this fight," said Fury in an expletive-filled Instagram post. "They're saying they're not going to fight now.
"It's mainly to do with Eddie Hearn's ego. He's making up a million different things and threatening 'we're not gonna fight, we're not gonna fight, we're not gonna fight'. He's cost us the biggest fight in boxing history. Clown... Eddie Hearn has cost us the biggest fight in boxing history."
Hearn has been feuding with UFC president White since the launch of Zuffa Boxing earlier this year.
Speaking to IFL TV, Hearn said White's involvement in the promotion of the Fury and Joshua fight "ain't happening".
"Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotion. Netflix clearly didn't get the memo. No-one talks to each other," said Hearn.
More than a decade in the making, the bout between the former two-time world champions has been subjected to numerous false starts and spats between the rival camps.
The fight could reportedly take place in the early hours UK time in a bid to satisfy television audiences in the United States.
Fury, 38, defeated 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in Thailand in his most recent bout in July.
Joshua, 36, survived a pair of first-round knockdowns to beat the unheralded Kristian Prenga in his last fight two months ago.
Fury has won 36 of his 39 fights and held the WBC, WBO and IBF heavyweight belts during his colourful career.
The self-styled 'Gypsy King' was twice beaten by Usyk in world title bouts in 2024.
Joshua has 30 wins from 34 fights, holding the WBO and IBF titles at various stages before a pair of losses to Usyk in 2021 and 2022.
T. Jones--BTZ
