Anthony Joshua agrees to terms for a heavyweight fight with Tyson Fury

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua’s all-British heavyweight battle may finally take place.

Anthony Joshua’s timing is challenging. He has been defeated twice by Oleksandr Usyk and seemed to be in distress with an outburst of passion following the most recent setback.

But he is currently in serious talks to fight British heavyweight opponent and WBC champion Tyson Fury in another high-profile bout.

Joshua’s management team announced on Twitter on Tuesday that their boxer has accepted Fury’s demands for a December 3 fight. The 258MGT group said Fury’s staff was informed of this on Friday, before both sides decided to suspend communication following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.

“We are expecting a response,” stated Joshua’s management team, who claimed to be speaking on his behalf as well as that of his promoter, Matchroom.

Fury, the WBC champion, indicated in a social media video last week that he was prepared to pay Joshua 40% of the purse for a championship bout before the end of the year.

“He no longer has any excuses not to accept it,” Fury remarked. “He can’t claim I underbid him and offered him 20 or 30 percent. I’ve given (his) staff 40% – take it or leave it.”

Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, stated that if Fury’s offer was legitimate, he would be interested in making the match.

Whatever happens, Joshua plans to return to the ring in December. “I can’t trust Tyson Fury with AJ’s future. While we’ll be as pleasant and supportive as we can, I need to have a backup plan in case this doesn’t work out,” Hearn added.

Looking at other choices for his next fight, though, piqued Joshua’s interest in perhaps boxing Fury.

“We’ve been looking at opponents for AJ for December, and his selection differs greatly from mine. So I don’t think he’s interested in opponents who will receive no recognition or respect. When I questioned him about the fight, he responded, ‘Let’s do it,'” Hearn stated.

“He doesn’t have any severe injuries or anything. I think he’s coming off a good performance,” said the promoter. The unbeaten Fury looks to have reversed his decision to retire after defeating another British boxer, Dillian Whyte, in front of around 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in April.

Fury’s chances of fighting Oleksandr Usyk, who defeated Joshua in Saudi Arabia last month to retain the WBA, WBO, and IBF championships, were destroyed when the Ukrainian announced he would not fight again this year.

Fury then set his sights on Joshua, who stated after the Usyk fight that he planned to work his way back up to being a three-time champion — maybe against opponents in the heavyweight division’s second tier — after losing three of his past five fights.

A battle for the undisputed title between Joshua and Fury was on the verge of being scheduled last year, only for an arbitrator in the United States to determine that Fury was legally obligated to fulfil a third bout with Deontay Wilder.

Joshua, the heavyweight champion at the time, then opted to face Usyk, whom he lost to in London.