Sports
THE highly anticipated Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua fight has been thrown into fresh uncertainty just two days after it was officially announced.
Dana White, the UFC president and Zuffa Boxing chief involved in promoting the bout, declined to confirm on Saturday that the contest would go ahead as planned.
Asked whether Fury and Joshua’s scheduled news conference in London on Wednesday would take place, White said: “I have no idea.”
Fury and Joshua were officially announced on Thursday to meet at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Dec. 11, with the fight scheduled to be broadcast globally on Netflix.
However, that certainty quickly unravelled amid a dispute over promotional rights.
Joshua’s long-time promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, has claimed that Joshua’s contract prevents White and TKO, the American sports entertainment company, from having a promotional role in the fight.
Hearn said the agreement had been breached and that the issue needed to be resolved, while also questioning whether Wednesday’s news conference would take place.
Fury has said a similar restriction existed in his own contract but was removed because he wanted White involved.
Frank Warren, Fury’s long-time promoter, has taken a more pragmatic view, saying compromises were necessary to secure the Netflix deal and that White had helped make the agreement possible.
White, however, criticised Hearn on Saturday.
“The guy who is supposed to be helping the fight has been hurting the fight,” White said. “He hasn’t done the fight any favours.”
The dispute has also generated speculation about alternative fights for the Dec. 11 date.
Reports suggested Ryan Garcia could face recently retired three-weight undisputed champion Terence Crawford, although Crawford publicly questioned the suggestion.
Fury subsequently posted a video claiming Joshua and Hearn were “trying to pull out” of the fight because of the disagreement over White.
There has been no announcement from Joshua indicating that he intends to withdraw from the contest.
Meanwhile, Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh posted photographs with White and later shared a cryptic message on social media, while Hearn responded with a picture accompanied by a shushing emoji and the words: “Bet against me.”
The developments have revived the claims, counter-claims and social-media exchanges that have accompanied discussions over Fury-Joshua for years.
For now, the Dec. 11 fight remains officially announced, but White’s comments and the unresolved promotional dispute have created fresh uncertainty around whether the long-awaited heavyweight contest will proceed as planned. (BBC)
M.P
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