Tyson Fury will come out of retirement today to sign a contract for a fight with Anthony Joshua - if the showdown does not generate a profit..
The world heavyweight champion is currently claiming to have hung up his gloves, but has been flip-flopping on the possibility of a comeback for the past few weeks. His stance has always been that he would need to be paid £500million to face Oleksandr Usyk should he come through his unified heavyweight title rematch with Joshua next month.
But the Brit has also stated that he would be happy to face Joshua, seemingly regardless of his next fight result, so long as the bout were done on British soil, with neither fighter receiving a purse. He wants to book Wembley Stadium, where he and Joshua have both enjoyed successful nights, with tickets given away to fans and the bout aired on free-to-air TV.
WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE
"This is a reconfirmation of what I've said about fighting Anthony Joshua for f*** all in England," Fury told fans in a social media post today. "That's how the fight happens, I'll sign the contract today.
"The fight's got to be for free, free-to-air television and all tickets go for free. No money is to be made out of this British, historic fight if it happens. There's the terms, I'm in the driving seat, take it or f-ing leave it. The ball is in your court, guys, take it or leave it, either way, I don't give a damn, there's the offer, peace out."
Fury captioned the post: "I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again Anthony Joshua… You want to see the Gypsy King come out of retirement for the biggest fight in Boxing history against AJ? Here are my terms."
Do you believe that Tyson Fury is being genuine about his offer towards Anthony Joshua? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has rubbished Fury's request, noting that he would only come out of retirement for a "shed-load of money". He said on a recent episode of The DAZN Boxing Show that he will insist on the best possible deal for Joshua, as he has done throughout the Watford native's professional career.
"I can definitely see Tyson Fury fighting [for free]," Hearn joked. "He's a genius, Tyson Fury, because no-one ever questions what he says. On one hand he's just said that you've got to pay him £500million, then the next sentence he says he'll fight AJ for free on non-pay-per-view with all the attendance going elsewhere. The only way that Tyson Fury is going to fight again is for a bucket-load of money.
"Tyson Fury will go to Timbuktu or Mars for a bucket-load of money, so it doesn't really matter what he says about free tickets and stuff like that. That's all great stuff that a man who doesn't quite have the mind to be able to say 'what is this guy talking about?' Go 'that is amazing, Tyson Fury wants to fight for free, what a guy."
