Despite both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua expressing a desire to fight each other, the pair may both soon be in the market for alternative opponents.
Negotiations for a Fury and Joshua bout have slowed and faltered in recent days – dashing hopes of the fans who believed it would happen and giving ammunition to those who said it never would. Whilst there’s still a slight possibility the fight gets made, the closer we get to the December 3 date, the less likely it looks.
One man who has been on the front line of talks is Eddie Hearn – ‘AJ’s promoter. It turns out he wouldn’t be impressed by a Mahmoud Charr fight for Fury. Charr is the rumoured match-up if the Joshua scrap can’t be agreed, although many point to the fact that the heavyweight has only had two fights in five years and isn’t ranked in the WBC top 15.
Speaking to Boxing Social, Hearn had a suggestion of an alternative opponent for ‘The Gypsy King’ should negotiations fail.
“If you really tried that hard with the AJ fight, and unfortunately it couldn’t happen, there’s a lot people out there you could fight. Joe Joyce being one of them. Same promoter. Joe Joyce would jump at that fight. It’s a tremendous fight.
But I guess no one will put that kind of pressure on Tyson Fury because it’s just a hall pass isn’t it. Where has Manuel Charr [come from]? I mean, he’s not even ranked.”
"@Tyson_Fury should fight Joe Joyce. Who is Manuel Charr?" 🤔@EddieHearn says Fury should fight 'The Juggernaut' if the AJ fight doesn't go through 👀
🔞 @Betfred Fight Odds: https://t.co/alJfxE6ohj#Boxingpic.twitter.com/KyU93kiuOL
— Boxing Social (@boxing_social) September 30, 2022
Joyce is the name on everyone’s lips at the moment since his impressive win over Joseph Parker. The victory was a step up in competition for Joyce, and put him firmly in the dangerous category for other heavyweights. Whilst his skills were known before, seeing them on display at a higher level was what fans needed to consider him a genuine threat in the division.
Fury was full of praise, too. He called ‘The Juggernaut’ the second best heavyweight behind himself, a position that he used to grant to Deontay Wilder. Whilst he said they would fight one day, it seems unlikely to happen next, even with the suggestion from Hearn.
However, Joyce has given the promoter something to consider – he’s offered to fight Joshua if the Watford fighter is short an opponent.