Anthony Joshua decided not to delay – Sport – Kommersant

The topic of the fight between world boxing star Tyson Fury, who holds the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title, and Briton Anthony Joshua, who lost the other three significant belts in a duel with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, is becoming increasingly relevant. Representatives of Joshua said that he accepted all the conditions put forward earlier by Fury and was ready to meet with him on December 3rd. A number of experts, however, still doubt that this fight will take place and that Tyson Fury, who until recently called the fight with Usyk for the title of absolute world champion, his main goal, will agree to abandon this idea.

The main intrigue related to how events in heavyweight will develop further is nearing resolution. On Tuesday, September 13, the promotional company Management Limited, representing the interests of British boxer Anthony Joshua, announced that he accepted the challenge of his compatriot Tyson Fury and all his conditions, and their fight – for Fury’s WBC championship belt – will take place on 3 December.

Two of these conditions stand out. The first concerned the date of the event. The heavyweight, who has not appeared in the ring since the spring (then he beat Dillian Whyte), wanted to fight before the end of this year. The second was related to the financial component. Fury immediately announced that he was counting on a fee of 60% of the total prize fund.

This offer for Anthony Joshua, given his current status, is extremely attractive. Until recently, the Briton was considered the sole king of the heavyweight category, a phenomenon of modern boxing, who managed to collect three belts at once – the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association and the World Boxing Organization. Joshua was stripped of his royal status last fall by Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk. In August he overcame Briton in a rematch, inflicting an even more powerful blow to his reputation.

Now the British media, including The Guardian, are calling Joshua not just a former champion, but the main outsider with a “deflated status”. Therefore, the fight with Fury is not only an opportunity for him to earn money, but also a chance to regain his former image.

Tyson Fury’s motivation, according to experts, is not so obvious. a week agowhen the heavyweight just posted a video message to Anthony Joshua on his social networks calling for a fight, key boxing publications like boxing scene hypothesized that with this trick, Fury wanted to make Oleksandr Usyk nervous in order to fight for the title of absolute world champion in the heavyweight division as soon as possible. These same experts tend to believe that the current discussion of the details of the fight with Joshua is part of Fury’s larger strategy.

Usyk has made it clear that he is naturally interested in this fight. On the one hand, at stake will be the title of absolute world heavyweight champion, which no boxer has won for two decades. On the other hand, the duel of the most sought-after heavyweights will provide both of them with gigantic fees.

But at the same time, the Ukrainian noted that he wanted to relax after the last meeting with Joshua, spend time with his family, and that he would be ready to enter the ring again only at the beginning of next year. And Fury does not like this alignment.

Ekaterina Remizova