Tyson Fury is refusing to move a potential fight with Anthony Joshua to December 17 - and has given his rival until the end of the day to accept his offer.
Fury has offered Joshua a shot at his heavyweight world title - and 40 per cent of a possible £75million purse - but insists he will only fight him at Wembley on November 26 or in Cardiff on December 3. Joshua wants to fight a week before Christmas instead, but Fury is refusing to back down.
Fury has also insisted on a rematch clause with the purse for the second fight being split down the middle, but Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn wants the winner of the sequel to be given 60 per cent of the pot. Fury took to social media to say: "AJ, I've not heard from you at all. You've never said you want this fight or you don't. I'm going to do a video every hour of the day until you agree so let us know.
"Just to clarify, there has never been a December 17 date. There has only ever been November 26 at Wembley or December 3 at Cardiff, there never has been a date on December 17. This is it AJ, Eddie, dont get scared now; agree to the fight and let's give the fans what they want. I've given you an unbelievable deal and an unbelievable opportunity, so let's go."
Fury's promoter Frank Warren had earlier told iFL TV: "It's a very generous offer. The original offer talked about November 12 because we were trying to get it on at Manchester United but they said they wouldn't be ready. Tyson came back with November 26 and December 3 and they have to pick one of those dates, it's as simple as that."
Warren insists Fury can't fight late in December as it would not allow him enough time to prepare for a potential undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk in February or March. "The offer is there and we need an answer quickly because Tyson has told me that if they do not come back with the thumbs up then we move on," he said.
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Warren revealed his son George is handling the negotiations and when asked if there is a deadline, he added: "Today. There is nothing to discuss. The nucleus of the deal shouldn't be a problem."
Fury will fight before the end of the year regardless of Joshua's response before turning his attention to Usyk. He had hoped to fight the Ukrainian before the end of 2022 but the unified champion insists he will not be ready until the spring.
Joshua, meanwhile, will also fight in December regardless of the opponent with Filip Hrogvic, Zhang Zhilei and Otto Wallin named as potential opponents by Hearn. Joshua would then target a rematch with Dillian Whyte at a stadium next year.
