Tyson Fury spoke out this week about a potential fight with Anthony Joshua – and sensationally claimed he will now NEVER fight AJ.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Fury said Joshua, now without any world titles, was not worth the hassle brought about by the latest bout of failed negotiations.
“He doesn’t have any belts. He doesn’t have anything that I need and there will not be a fight between me and him ever. Full stop.”
“There’s too much messing. I’m not going over it again. They’re too hard to deal with.”
British fans had their hopes dashed of a meeting between the two once again recently, after talks between the two camps – which seemed initially positive – ultimately collapsed.
A blame game between the two fighters’ teams predictably ensued, with the generational fight now seeming further away than ever.
And Fury claims he now believes that Joshua and those around him never actually had any desire for the fight to take place, hence why it will be Derek Chisora stood opposite ‘The Gypsy King,’ and not AJ.
“The fight didn’t happen. The reason I believe is they never wanted it to happen and they never had any intention of it happening,”
“The first week [of negotiations] I believe he was interested in the fight then he realised the daunting task and he got talked out of it by his people and himself.
“If that wasn’t the reason, he would be here now fighting instead of Derek. But he’s not and that is that.”
The boxing world will hope that, like his supposed ‘retirement’ earlier this year, Fury is perhaps not being 100% truthful when saying a fight with Joshua is permanently off the cards.