The British heavyweight title fight touted as one for the ages seems less likely with each passing day.
Discussions for a proposed Dec. 3 all-British showdown between WBC titlist Tyson Fury and former champion Anthony Joshua have seemingly reached an impasse, with Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, stating on Monday that the fight is now essentially dead in the water, with the caveat that discussions can resume at any point in time.
Yet, in a sign that indicates the unlikelihood of consummating the fight, Hearn revealed on Monday that Derek Chisora, the tough trial horse and longtime Matchroom client, received an order from Fury’s team to fight him on Dec. 3. Hearn said “other fighters” also received offers from Fury, who defeated Chisora twice, first in 2011, then in 2014, the latter a dominant stoppage.
“At the weekend, or Friday, Derek Chisora received a contract for the Tyson Fury fight,” Hearn said in a video posted on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel. “So have other fighters, so in our mind he's not fighting Anthony Joshua.”
Judging from Fury’s latest social media ultimatums, Hearn believes Fury has moved on from fighting Joshua. He added, however, that he is still open to continuing talks.
"We're more than happy to continue those conversations, but from what we've been told, the deadline has passed,” Hearn said.
“Don’t blame Anthony Joshua for Tyson Fury pulling the plug twice on this fight,” Hearn continued. “We’ve sent the final version of the contract back. They’ll come back with points. And then we were told that the fight is off by the man himself (Fury). AJ’s training. He’s still ready for that date (Dec. 3) and we’ll see what happens.”
Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) has previously mentioned a trilogy with Chisora as an option for his next title defense of the WBC belt. More recently, the Manchester native named Mahmoud Charr as a possible opponent.
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