Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
Representatives for Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are discussing a potential fight for September, according to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger.
“Talks began this week between Fury’s promoter, George Warren, and Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, the sources said, revisiting a discussion from last fall that failed to delivering the long-awaited showdown between two of the UK’s top boxing stars,” reported Coppinger.
Fury confirmed the story on Instagram.
Michael Benson @MichaelBenson
‼️ Tyson Fury CONFIRMED he’s in talks to fight Anthony Joshua again and has sent a draft contract to AJ for the fight in September at Wembley: “This time I’m not going to do a million vids and keep the pressure on. AJ, let’s give the world what they want to see.” pic.twitter.com/9lg4KxDYrB
The undefeated champion said he had sent a draft contract to Joshua’s representatives for a fall event at London’s Wembley Stadium. He said it was “a fight everyone wants to see including myself.”
The situation remains fluid, however. Coppinger reports that the door is not closed on a blockbuster card in December pitting Fury against Oleksandr Usyk and Joshua against Deontay Wilder. Joshua could also pursue a second encounter with Dillian Whyte, who he knocked out in 2015.
Some of the light may come from a hypothetical encounter between Fury and Joshua after the latter suffered back-to-back losses to Usyk. He bounced back by earning a unanimous decision against Jermaine Franklin in April, but it wasn’t to be emphatic performance others hope to see.
Still, Joshua is the No. 4-ranked heavyweight in ESPN’s divisional rankings. If he can’t make a breakthrough in negotiations with Usyk, this might be the biggest money fight on the table for Fury in his return to the ring after he scored a 10th-round TKO of Derek Chisora last December.
