ANTHONY JOSHUA accepted Tyson Fury’s fight offer against the odds in fear he would not get the opportunity again.
AJ has conceded to a 60/40 split in favour of Fury in return of a WBC title shot on December 3 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Joshua does so coming off consecutive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, most recently in Saudi Arabia last month.
But after Usyk ruled himself out of a unification bout until next year, Fury surprisingly turned his attention to British rival AJ.
And promoter Eddie Hearn claimed Joshua will take the same deal the Gypsy King snubbed after drawing with Deontay Wilder in 2018.
Hearn told Sky Sports: “The reason he accepts these terms is he feels this is the only chance he’ll get to fight Tyson Fury.
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“So therefore, okay, it would have been better to come off a victory but we’re here and [Joshua thinks] I can beat him and I feel good.
“When he drew to Wilder, we offered Fury the fight against AJ and we offered him 60-40 and he said no and he said I’ll only take 50-50.
“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to push back on some of the terms.
“But in the end it was AJ who overruled and said no just accept it. He’s always believed he can beat him.”
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Usyk, 35, has just returned to his war-torn home in Ukraine after months of training away from his friends and family.
So Fury, 34, who is determined to return before the end of the year, offered Joshua, 32, an unlikely shot at his title and unbeaten record.
Hearn has met with George Warren, son to promoter Frank, in a bid to thrash out a deal which previously failed to come together.
And while a date, venue and financial split appear to be agreed, putting together a shared TV deal remains on the agenda.
Fury is signed to BT Sport while AJ’s brand new deal with DAZN comes into play with his next fight.
Although the sports streaming service have just launched a box office platform, making a rare duel pay-per-view possible.
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Hearn said: “Broadcasters need to have their discussions. Which I don’t think will be a problem. It’s actually not that complicated.
“If they’re genuine and George tells me they are, then I think the fight will get made.
“I think George feels his instructions are to make the fight. But you just never know with Tyson Fury.
“Is this a ploy to speed up the Usyk fight, get more money from a site?
“It might have been a bluff, or a bit of publicity that actually turns into it happening.
“Or maybe it was genuine from the start. It could be anything.
“That’s a sceptical view but right now I’m going along the lines of I believe him because I want to be positive and work together to make it happen.”
The reason he accepts these terms is he feels this is the only chance he’ll get to fight Tyson Fury.
Eddie Hearn on Anthony Joshua
Joshua had planned to fight in a confidence building comeback in December before Fury’s out-of-the-blue challenge.
But if the unpredictable Gypsy King pulls another trademark stunt, Hearn has alternate options in case.
He revealed: “I can’t put AJ’s future in the hands of Tyson Fury.
“Whilst we’ll be as positive as we can, we’ll be as helpful as we can, I need to have plan B up my sleeve because this might not happen.
“But it was looking at other options for his next fight that also enthused Joshua about potentially boxing Fury.
“We’ve been looking at opponents for AJ for December and his list is very different to my list.
“So I don’t think he’s interested in opponents that he’s just going to get no credit or respect for.
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“Straightaway when I asked him about this fight, he went, ‘Let’s do it’. He hasn’t got any major injuries or anything like that. They want to do it.
“I think he’s coming off a decent performance. He just fancies the fight and fancies his chances. He’s willing to roll the dice.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
