Anthony Joshua has missed Tyson Fury's deadline to sign to the contract for their planned December heavyweight showdown.
Joshua recently lost for a second time to Oleksandr Usyk and looked as if he would be out of the heavyweight title picture, but was offered a shot by long-term rival Fury at the WBC crown. 'AJ' gladly accepted the offer and the pair entered extensive talks over finally settling their scores in the ring after last year's failed attempt.
This weekend, Fury claimed he would move on from the fight with Joshua if his rival did not put pen to paper on the contract by the end of play today. And it appears as if Joshua has now missed his chance to settle their differences, with Fury issuing a video message on social media, in which he said: "Well guys, it's official. D-Day has come and gone, it's gone past 5'o'clock Monday and no contract has been signed.
"It's officially over for Joshua, he's now out in the cold with the wolf pack. Forget about it. Idiot, coward, s***house, bodybuilder. Always knew you didn't have the minerals to fight the Gyspy King. Regardless of what you say now, I don't really care. Good luck with your career and your life, end of."
Fury is now expected to move on and see if he can arrange a defence against Manuel Charr for the December date, while he waits for a shot at the undisputed title clash. However talks will likely remain ongoing to iron out the final issues of a contract between Joshua and Fury, with Hearn previously revealing a meeting was scheduled for today.
" Tyson Fury has no intention of taking this fight if that's the route he's going to take," Hearn told iFL TV when addressing today's deadline. "Tyson Fury said he's retired, Tyson Fury said he was giving his money to the homeless... and now Tyson Fury is saying he's walking away from the fight if we dont sign on Monday. Well guess what, we ain't signing on Monday; we're having a meeting on Monday to discuss various points of the contract.
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"We waited nine days for the contract and we've been working very hard with Queensberry, no-ones been messing round, and we have meetings with BT, with DAZN, with Queensberry, to go through the process and get this done but it ain't happening on Monday. If you're true to your word, which you never are, then walk away.
"The public know, you're going to fight Manuel Charr on December 3; it's a joke. so don't waste our time because we've spent a lot of time on this fight already. If you dont want the fight, just walk away. I don't think Tyson and Queensberry are on the same page; they can't be."
