Tyson Fury has claimed his fight against Anthony Joshua is now in serious doubt after his British heavyweight rival asked for ‘more money’.
The pair had signed to fight in November, with Madison Square Garden in New York emerging as the likely location.
But Fury has suggested in a social media video the blockbuster bout is in serious doubt due to Joshua’s request for a bigger fight purse.
Speaking on Friday, Fury said: “It doesn’t look like they’re going to sign the fight. It doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. All because Eddie Hearn and that want more money.
“All this talk of wanting the fight in England, we want this, we want that; it’s only to get more money to go to America.
“I’ve bent over backwards to make this fight happen. First of all it was in England, then it was in Ireland, then it was in America; I said I’ll go anywhere.
“I’m not interested where the fight is, I just want the fight, I’m match fit, I’m ready to rock and roll, baby. If you [Joshua] don’t want to get it on I’ll fight somebody else in November.”
Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith had told Sky Sports earlier this week it was a ‘critical week’ for negotiations, but he was optimistic about an agreement.
“It will be disappointing for it not to be in the UK, but at the same time if it means seeing the fight, we all want to see that fight happen,” said Smith. “Let’s see how things play out.
“We’re following the terms of what we signed up to right now, which is a fight in the UK. That is what we signed up to, and when the fight was announced in March, April time, the fight was signed, those were the terms we signed up for.
“They are the conversations really that are taking place right now. MSG is a proposed venue that they would like to look at, i.e The Ring Magazine, Saudi delegation, so let’s see.
“I think November is possible. Later in November is possible, but again the next seven to 10 days, a lot of progress has got to be made in order to make that happen to get [fighters] into camp to give yourself that eight-to-10-week period, a dedicated camp away from all the promotional obligations.”
Joshua and Fury were unable to agree terms in 2021 and fight plans fell apart after a US judge ruled Fury had to face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy fight instead.
Fury’s manager Spencer Brown has told Sky Sports he was uneasy about the delay in announcing the Joshua fight.
“Everybody’s got a bit of doubt in their mind,” he said. “There’s reasons you could think that.
“If you’d asked me a week ago, I’d have said no, but now it’s a little bit concerning that things haven’t progressed down the line. We need to get this fight on.”