Joshua breaks silence on Fury vs Usyk fight talks collapsing

Anthony Joshua has reacted to the news that Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk is reportedly off. The Watford powerhouse believes it’s good that people are starting to see how difficult negotiations can be after coming under immense scrutiny in the past for fights with Fury and Deontay Wilder falling through.

Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas claims that the four-belt shoot-out collapsed due to Fury moving the goalposts in negotiations. Discussions had stalled over the proposed purse split for the contest with Fury insisting he would not fight unless he received a 70 per cent lion’s share of the prize pot.

Usyk’s side felt this was unfair and requested a ‘fairer split’ but did eventually give in to Fury’s demands. However, esteemed boxing insider Mike Coppinger, reports that Fury-Usyk fell apart as the two parties were unable to “agree on other material terms critical to the deal beyond the purse split”.

Joshua, who had a fight with Fury fall through most recently in December of last year, knows these frustrations all too well and insists he won’t be chasing a contest with his fellow countryman going forward.

“I cannot say I am just going to sit around and wait for this geezer,” he told the Daily Star. “There are other great fights out there I can have. Without Fury on my record, I will not wake up tomorrow and regret my whole boxing career. If he is on it, I am on it, if he is not, he is not. Whatever.”

He added: “I will be real, as much as I like to entertain that gossip and Fury situation, I have been there twice, and people don’t remember that. I was supposed to fight him before I fought Usyk, the first time, and he pulled out due to his legal case, the arbitration, with Wilder. That was all up in the air and done online.

“Then we had the one for this December. Will the fight with me and him get made? I don’t know. Look at all the s*** they are going through now with this Usyk stuff. It’s just crazy.

“I don’t publicise things so it’s actually good that people are starting to see what goes on in negotiations. It’s good that people can actually see the s*** that people have got to put up with to make a fight, Me and Usyk got two successful fights done. It’s just crazy.”

Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has since come out and declared that he will be partaking in last-gasp negotiations with Usyk’s side to thrash out a deal for the historic encounter. It is understood that the main problem lies in the purse split for the rematch. 

Fury wants a 50-50 purse split if Usyk wins while the former undisputed cruiserweight champion wants the split to be reversed to 70-30 in his favour providing he gets his hand raised on fight night.