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Anthony Joshua has agreed terms for a proposed world heavyweight title fight with Tyson Fury, his management team has announced.
Fury, the WBC champion, made the offer to his British rival last week, saying he would accept a 60-40 purse split to seal the contest. Joshua’s management team, 258, said on Tuesday it had accepted Fury’s offer on behalf of Joshua and his promoter, Matchroom, and was awaiting the champion’s response.
They wrote on social media in a message retweeted by Joshua: “258 and MatchroomBoxing can confirm, on behalf of anthonyjoshua, that we accepted all terms presented to us by Fury’s team for a fight on December 3 last Friday. Due of the Queen’s passing, it was agreed to cease all communication. We await a reply.”
Fury made the offer after it emerged that rival champion Oleksandr Usyk had ruled out fighting again until early next year. Joshua suffered his second consecutive defeat to the Ukrainian in Saudi Arabia last month and had planned to make a relatively low-key comeback.
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Reacting to Fury’s offer last week, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn expressed caution and questioned whether Fury was “serious” about the fight. While that would certainly represent the most lucrative opportunity for Joshua at this stage of his career, it would also be a big risk given the consensus that he needs to rebuild in the wake of his losses to Usyk.
And while the expected showdown would attract attention, it wouldn’t be as lucrative given Joshua’s now-diminished status as a former champion and by now a significant underdog.
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