Tyson Fury has branded Anthony Joshua a “coward” and accused his fellow British heavyweight of “conning everybody” as negotiations for their long-awaited all-British showdown continue.
Fury made the fresh attack on Joshua on Wednesday, amid a dispute over where the proposed heavyweight blockbuster should be staged.
According to Sky Sports, the fight appeared closer than ever to being agreed before Saudi organisers Sela’s preference for the event to be held in the United States emerged as a major stumbling block.
Joshua’s camp has maintained its preference for the fight to take place in the United Kingdom.
Questioning the delay in an Instagram video, Fury said: “Joshua, where are you? Still no deal done. It’s getting quite tiring.”
The former heavyweight champion added: “The facts are that I feel like you’re being a coward. I feel like you don’t want the fight and you’re just conning everybody. I feel like you’ve been doing that for years.”
Fury also insisted he had been willing to fight Joshua at any of the proposed locations.
“I’ve been down to fight in every location that’s been mentioned – England, Ireland, Vegas, New York, back to England, back to Ireland, back to New York,” he said. “I’ve said yep, yep, yep every single time with zero stipulations.”
Fury further taunted Joshua over their ages and previous knockout defeats, insisting the pair should finally settle their rivalry in the ring.
“We’re both fing 37, 38 years old – let’s fing fight,” Fury said. “It’s a boxing match and you’ve been banjoed before plenty of times.”
Joshua, meanwhile, is coming off a second-round knockout victory over Kristian Prenga in July, although he was floored twice in the opening round.
Fury also fought in July, defeating Mariusz Wach, with the 46-year-old retiring in the seventh round.
Promoter Frank Warren said the responsibility for moving the proposed fight forward now rests with Joshua’s side.
“Tyson has signed up for the fight and agreed to the fight,” Warren said. “He’s all good to go, just waiting for AJ.”
Warren, however, admitted that the venue remains unresolved, particularly after Fury recently teased a possible fight at Madison Square Garden.
“Tyson just wants to get on,” Warren said. “He said ‘I don’t care where I’ll fight, whether it’s Wembley, New York, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man – I’ll fight him anywhere’. He doesn’t care.”
The Fury-Joshua fight, which has been discussed for years, therefore remains subject to agreement over the venue as negotiations continue.
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