British heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury has definitively dismissed the possibility of facing Anthony Joshua, regardless of the financial incentives or championship titles at stake.
Despite their close proximity to an agreement, the British heavyweight rivals have struggled to finalize a deal.
In August 2020, Fury and Joshua agreed upon terms for a highly anticipated superfight to determine an undisputed champion. However, Fury’s contractual obligation to engage in a trilogy with Deontay Wilder intervened. Consequently, Joshua went on to face Oleksandr Usyk twice, suffering defeats in both bouts, leaving his career at an impasse.
Following these setbacks, Joshua made a successful return in April by defeating Jermaine Franklin. Notably, he declined a December match against Fury.
During discussions about his new Netflix docu-series, Fury expressed uncertainty about the prospect of a Joshua bout resurfacing. Despite sending an offer to challenge Joshua for his WBC title in September, Fury received no response, leading him to believe that the opportunity for such a matchup might not present itself again.
He said, “I cannot get him in the ring for any amount of money. I’ve offered him world title shots and extremely large amounts of money, but he ain’t going to make the fight.
“Me and my team, my lawyers, have come to the conclusion and accepted the fact that AJ won’t fight me for any money or any titles.
“I saw footage of him recently training by punching a mattress; I’m not sure if it was taken off TikTok or one of his social media accounts, but I’ve no idea what was going on there.”
On Saturday, Joshua is set to make his return to the ring against Robert Helenius, who is 39 years old. This matchup follows the withdrawal of Dillian Whyte, aged 35, due to a failed drug test.
Concurrently, Fury, aged 34, is preparing to take on former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, aged 36, on October 28 in Saudi Arabia.
