Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua a “coward” as the pair face a tense wait to see whether their long-awaited all-British heavyweight bout can be agreed.
The long-time rivals had been expected to finally settle their differences and face off in November, but the likelihood of that happening is diminishing as an agreement over the venue has yet to be reached.
Two-time unified world champion Joshua and his Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn have signed a contract for the fight to take place in the United Kingdom, while the fight’s organisers are understood to favour staging it in the United States.
Hearn has previously said the contracts would have to be renegotiated if the fight were to take place outside the United Kingdom.
On Wednesday, Fury, who defeated journeyman Mariusz Wach last month to keep the potential blockbuster clash with Joshua on track, said negotiations over the fight were becoming “quite tiring”.
“I’ve been down to fight at every location that’s been mentioned – England, Ireland, Vegas, New York, back to England, back to Ireland, back to New York,” said the 38-year-old.
“Listen, I’ve said yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, every single time. Zero stipulations.
“The facts are 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.
“You’ve had many opportunities to fight me, but deep down you’ve never really wanted it, so let’s see if you’re going to man up for a final time.”
In a separate post, Fury continued to taunt Joshua, 36, this time alongside former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, telling his fellow Brit to “sign the contract, big boy” as he paid homage to Tyson’s iconic line.
Queensbury’s Frank Warren, who promotes Fury, told Sky Sports News his fighter was “100%” signed up for the fight.
“It is signed by Tyson,” said Warren. “Tyson is signed up for the fight and agreed for the fight.”
