A blockbuster heavyweight fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will never happen, according to Frank Warren.
Initial terms had been agreed for a pre-Christmas bout between the British duo but Fury bet Warren £10,000 the fight would not reach fruition.
When talks fell apart, Warren was forced to cough up and said it was completely dead and buried on the day it was confirmed Fury will instead fight Derek Chisora for a third time on December 3 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“We thought [Fury-Joshua] was very close,” Warren told Standard Sport. “Tyson said Joshua would never sign and we had a £10,000 bet and I lost. He knew better than me.
“I don’t think it will ever happen as [Joshua’s camp] don’t want the fight. Originally, I think they were good to go and then they had second thoughts.”
There have been critics of Warren scheduling a trilogy fight between Fury and Chisora but the promoter defended the bout.
“It’s not the one we wanted,” he said. “We tried hard to make Joshua. We wasted a lot of time on the Joshua fight and got jerked around. Then there were only a couple of guys available.
“Derek will come to fight and won’t roll over. He gave Usky a lot of problems and only lost a couple of rounds.”
Should, as expected, Fury complete a hat-trick of wins over Chisora, that will pave the wave for a heavyweight reunification fight against Oleksandr Usyk in the springtime, to take place outside the UK.
And Warren said the December clash might be a rare opportunity for Londoners to watch Fury in action: “This is a last chance to see him here for a while because I don’t see the Usyk fight will happen in this country.”
Fury had previously claimed he was retiring after a last successful defence against Dillian Whyte before performing a U-turn to open talks with Joshua, which eventually fell apart.
And Warren believes Fury now has plenty more fights left in him, including an all-British clash against Joe Joyce late next year.
“I spoke to Tyson the other day and says he wants to carry on and doesn’t like retirement,” he said. “There’s some great fights to be made.”
