Tyson Fury has pocketed £10,000 after winning a bet with his promoter Frank Warren over his doomed fight with Anthony Joshua.
Fury and Joshua were a signature away from agreeing to fight in December but talks ultimately collapsed, leaving Fury to instead opt to face Derek Chisora. The heavyweight rivals will clash three weeks before Christmas at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
But Warren was so confident Fury WOULD fight Joshua that he struck a £10,000 wager with his fighter - and has now been forced to pay up. "I bet that Joshua wouldn't sign the fight contract," said Fury. "Now I've got £10k. Frank Warren said he would sign it and I said, 'I bet 10 grand he won't'... and there's the 10 bar. Tax free money... tax free."
Warren added: "I honestly believed it was going to happen. Tyson was getting fed up with it, and he was right. It cost me £10,000, the bet I had with him." Fury's bout against Chisora, whom Fury previously beat in 2011 and 2014, will take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and represents the 34-year-old Fury’s first fight since a routine sixth-round stoppage of another domestic rival, Dillian Whyte, in April.
Warren added: “I am thrilled to be delivering a Tyson Fury world title defence in front of the British fans in London. “Tyson clearly conquered America across his trilogy with Deontay Wilder and there is also huge demand to stage his fights from sites across the world.
“Tyson wanted to fight in his home country again this year following his special night at Wembley Stadium in April. This brings us to the magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a match against an old rival in Derek Chisora. Derek, also a big favourite with British fans, has reinvented himself in recent years and Tyson has long stated his wish to fight him for a third time.”
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Warren reiterated Fury’s plan to take on Joshua’s conqueror Oleksandr Usyk in a unification fight in the first part of next year. The Ukrainian previously indicated he had no desire to fight before the new year.
“Tyson can’t afford any slip-up in this fight as he has the much-publicised undisputed match-up with Usyk in the new year which we’re really looking forward to,” added Warren. Daniel Dubois will make the first defence of his version of the WBA title against Kevin Lerena on the undercard.
