Tyson Fury disclosed that just days before their scheduled press conference, his highly anticipated British super-fight with Anthony Joshua “wasn’t happening,” as the bout teetered on the brink of cancellation less than 48 hours after being announced. Last week, it was confirmed that the much-anticipated ‘Battle of Britain’ will take place on 11 December at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and will be available to stream live on Netflix.
Despite the announcement, the fight faced significant uncertainty over the weekend due to unspecified “issues,” which were believed to involve UFC President and Zuffa Boxing co-founder Dana White, although promoter Eddie Hearn denied this. Eventually, a solution was reached allowing the press conference in London to proceed on Wednesday, but not before Fury publicly called Joshua a “yellow-bellied coward” on social media after discovering the fight was close to being canceled.
“Up until three days ago, this fight wasn’t happening,” Fury stated. “I received a call from the top telling me we needed to go on video and address the situation, so I agreed enthusiastically. I confronted them, and it got to a point where they couldn’t make any more excuses to avoid signing the contract. When one manager says, ‘Sure, no problem,’ and the other says, ‘This, that, and the other,’ it’s tough to move forward.”
Fury alleged that Joshua and Hearn came up with “a million excuses” to delay signing the fight, though he was willing to meet their demands, including holding the fight in the UK. “There’s only so many moves you can make before being checkmated,” Fury added. “The last sticking point was, ‘We want it in Britain or nothing.’ They wondered why I’d want to fight in Britain—why wouldn’t I? Checkmate. Now what do they say?”
While Joshua remains “100 percent confident” the fight will go ahead as planned in the next 10 weeks, Fury admits that the final outcome is “out of my control.” “I’ve done everything I can to make this fight happen. Fingers crossed, we both get in the ring and fight on the night,” he said.
Fan Take: This revelation highlights the behind-the-scenes challenges that big fights often face, underscoring how fragile such marquee events can be. For fans, the drama only adds to the anticipation, making this clash not just a battle in the ring but a major moment with significant implications for boxing’s future spotlight in the UK and beyond.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
