GYPSY BLING
AJ wants Fury fight but says purse talks will be a ‘nightmare’
ANTHONY JOSHUA knows negotiations over any future fight with Tyson Fury will be “a nightmare”.
He has watched as Fury’s proposed clash with Oleksandr Usyk, the man who took AJ’S WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles, has fallen apart.
The Gypsy King continued to move the goalposts, according to Team Usyk, despite the Ukrainian accepting a 70/30 purse split for the first fight.
Joshua had his own problems dealing with Fury at the end of last year as the pair tried to thrash out a Battle of Britain.
That fight collapsed, with Fury insisting deadlines were not met from Joshua’s side – but with Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn claiming those targets were impossible to meet.
A fight between WBC champion Fury and Joshua at one time seemed inevitable, but, as ever with boxing, only time will tell whether the showdown the public would love to see will materialise.
Joshua said: “I tell you what, if he is doing a 70/30 split for an undisputed heavyweight world title fight, to an already undisputed cruiserweight and unified heavyweight champion, imagine what he is going to try and offer me.
“It’s just a nightmare. But when that fight happens – God willing, it does – then my management and promotional team will be in my corner, they will back me, they know what I bring to the table. They would negotiate fiercely to make sure I get a lion’s share of what’s on the table.”
Fury is undoubtedly box office and, as a self-styled people’s champion, he holds something of an upper hand against Usyk, despite the Ukrainian’s standing.
If Joshua and Fury were to meet anytime soon, the former would go into any contest as the challenger.
But, with two-and-ahalf times as many followers on Instagram as Fury – 15million to 5.8m – and oneand-a-half times as many followers on Twitter – 3.4m to 2.2m – Joshua remains every bit as much of a draw in the eyes of the public as his rival.
Asked whether those figures suggest he is more of a people’s champion than Fury (left), Joshua added: “Fury is a people’s champion.
“Remember, I put a lot of effort into pushing the heavyweight division into a healthy place early on in my career and I understood the concepts of PR and marketing, and that shows in the figures.
“He is a people’s champion, I’m a people’s champion – there is no competition in that sense.
“The only competition I need to have with him is in the ring.”
Joshua’s defeats by Usyk have seen him drop down the rankings and he now finds himself fifth with the IBF and WBO, and fourth with the WBA, despite the fact he held all three titles until September 2021.
Fellow Englishman Joe Joyce is now ahead of him with the WBO and Daniel Dubois with the WBA.
But Joshua added: “I rate the rankings, I’ve been in the top 10 for about eight years and as long as I’m still in the top 10, I’m happy.
“To be there consistently, it’s not easy. And it’s all about who you fight as well.
“Rankings are important, for sure, but you have to fight the big names as well.
“My top three currently are Usyk, Fury and myself.
“Minus me, it’s Usyk, Fury and Deontay Wilder – because he’s a former champion.”
‘They would negotiate fiercely to make sure I get a lion’s share of what’s on the table’