Amid reports that the contract for Fury vs Joshua has yet to be signed, Sam Jones, former manager of Joe Joyce, has had his say about Tyson’s rumoured next opponent.
After a video from Fury questioning why ‘AJ’ has yet to put pen to paper, many news outlets are speculating that the all-British may not happen with many questioning whether ‘The Gypsy King’ ever intended to fight Joshua all along.
Instead, rumours are now circulating that Fury’s next opponent will be Manuel Charr, a 37-year-old Lebanese-born heavyweight with a record of 33-4.
In an interview with Seconds Out, Jones, who knows the inner workings of heavyweight promotions better than most, claimed that he would watch it, but couldn’t hide his disappointment at the anti-climatic mismatch.
“If its Manuel Charr, we can all go home can’t we.
Genuinely, I would watch it, but I wouldn’t cancel any plans to watch Tyson Fury fight Manuel Charr, because it’s just a massacre isn’t it.
I do not want to see Tyson Fury fight Manuel Charr, no disrespect to Charr because I actually like the fella, but please f*cking no.”
Having been ‘retired’ from the sport, it is understandable that Fury would want a keep-busy, warm-up fight in preparation for an undisputed bout with Oleksandr Usyk – but a fight with Charr would feel like a huge let down after all the talk of a Fury-Joshua showdown.
Jones claimed that no one would mind Fury’s comeback being against a lesser opponent, particularly as he looks set to take on Usyk, but the manner in which the WBC champion has gone about it, has undoubtedly frustrated fellow promoters and fans.
“It’s like promising someone a flipping wagyu steak and then giving them a chewy rump steak. It’s not what people want. Tyson has a habit of saying one thing and then another thing happens.”
The ‘chewy rump steak’ of a fight has clearly left a sour taste in the mouth of Sam Jones, but as he admitted, he would still watch the ‘massacre’.