Former Cruiserweight World Champion, Tony Bellew, has had his say on the turbulent negotiations between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, believing ‘The Gypsy King’ didn’t want the fight in the first place.
Fans, at least the ones who believed the Fury – ‘AJ’ fight was ever a real possibility, had their hopes dashed yesterday when an ultimatum was ignored. Fury had ordered Joshua to sign the contract before 5PM on Monday. That didn’t happen, and despite Joshua’s public messages to say he would sign when due process was complete, the champion took the offer off the table.
In an interview with Best Of Bets, Bellew says that, despite his deadlines and daily updates, Fury never wanted the fight at all.
“It was pretty clear from the start that Fury didn’t really want this fight to happen; and I don’t think he thought that AJ would agree to all the terms and dates put in front of him. But he did. So the last minute deadline felt like a final way for Fury to stop the fight from happening – and the only way to prevent if from taking place seeing that both promoters were keen for it to take place – and still are.”
‘Bomber’ Bellew, who had a bit of beef with Fury back in the day, went on to say that there was nothing to lose and everything to gain for Joshua, and suggested that the whole public back and forth may have been a ploy on the Champion’s part to create headlines. Whatever it was, the retired fighter now thinks that the fight may be gone for good.
“I doubt this fight will ever happen – not this year, not next and not the year after that.”
Finally, Bellew gave his thoughts on Fury’s road map for the future. He highlighted one man whom ‘The Gypsy King’ must face to truly dominate a division filled with talent – and it’s a former opponent of his own.
“He has to beat Usyk so, technically, any other fight is pointless and would simply be a cash grab. And if it’s all about cash, the wisest move would to have gone ahead with the AJ fight.”
Fury instead plans to face Mahmoud Charr, at least according to his social media posts. It’s a fight that won’t generate nearly as much interest or cash as a Joshua alternative – but it seems that a deadline is a deadline when it comes to Tyson Fury.