RICKY HATTON has launched a stinging attack on the heavyweight boxing scene after Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua’s latest updates.
Neither Fury or Joshua have fights booked at present after failing to agree terms to face each other earlier this year.
The two British boxers had been involved in very public negotiations, which included videos posted to social media by Fury.
However, the pair failed to agree on any of the Gypsy King’s proposals.
As a result, they have both been left out of action as the heavyweight division appears to be stalling.
Former two-weight world champion Hatton has been left frustrated by the heavyweights.
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Speaking to talkSPORT, he admitted: “The heavyweight scene is a little bit upsetting, isn’t it?
“I’m not pointing any fingers at promoters or TV or even fighters, but it’s a little bit like a circus at the minute, you don’t know who to believe or what to believe.
“I originally saw that Dillian Whyte vs Anthony Joshua was going to be made in August and then Dillian Whyte said he hasn’t even had an offer and then Eddie Hearn said he had made an offer and then they were arguing over how much the offer was and I was thinking to myself ‘what do you believe?’.”
He also added: “AJ and Tyson [Fury] haven’t fought since nearly Christmas and I remember back in the day when you won the title you had a certain number of days to defend it otherwise you got stripped.
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“I don’t know what’s happening these days but it’s like the governing bodies are making up their own rules for their financial benefit and it’s hurting our sport.
“Negotiating is part of the business. I’ve been there and you want the best deal, but sometimes they’re going to cut the nose off to spite the face.
“You see YouTubers, rappers and Mixed Martial Artists fighting each other and they’re the ones pulling in the crowds while our sport is suffering and it’s because big fights aren’t being made.”
Fury and Joshua had both been targeted for a lucrative heavyweight tournament in Saudi Arabia later this year but the event appears to have now been put on hold.
Meanwhile, Fury’s undisputed world title fight with Oleksandr Usyk has failed to come to fruition.
The WBC champion has promised his fans that he will make a “show stopping” return to the ring, though.
As for Joshua, recent talks for a second fight with Dillian Whyte have hit a stumbling block.
An agreement for the bout is being held up by Whyte’s opposition to a one-way rematch clause inserted by Joshua’s team.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
