Joshua-Fury Exchanged Insults Over Fight Unraveling

You had to figure that things were going to turn it nasty between Unified Heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua and WBC Title holder, Tyson Fury. And, just 2 days after an arbitrator ruled that Fury has to honor his rematch clause and fight former champ, Deontay Wilder, a third time, the barbs were flying on social media Wednesday afternoon.

Joshua took to Twitter first to blast “The Gypsy King” for what he says says is “the world seeing what a fraud you are,”

.@Tyson_Fury the world now sees you for the fraud you are.

You’ve let boxing down!

You lied to the fans and led them on. Used my name for clout not a fight.

Bring me any championship fighter who can handle their business correctly.

— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) May 19, 2021

And of course Fury, who just Sunday finally confirmed that he was willing and ready to fight Joshua in August in Saudi Arabia for the Undisputed Heavyweight title, was not just going to let the insults go unchallenged.

No, he fired back at his fellow Brit within 15 minutes,

@anthonyjoshua your more full of shit that Eddie, Spouting absolute shite! your full team knew there was an Arbitration going on, it was out of my hands! but i tell you what if i’m a fraud let’s fight this weekend bare knuckles till 1 man quits? let’s put up 20 mill each!!! ???? https://t.co/NbCvwn6YfN

— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) May 19, 2021

The two continued the back and forth (which accomplishes little, yet is entertaining), particularly with Joshua whining and insulting Fury about his public declaration Sunday that they would be fighting. Of course, that was trumped just a day later by Wilder getting the favorable arbitration ruling from Federal Judge, Daniel Weinstein, who had been arbitrating the Wilder-Fury contract and rematch clause.

As we wrote in the aftermath of that ruling, Weinstein heard the compelling argument from Wilder’s side with legal precedence from former Undisputed Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis having successfully argued in U.S. Federal Court 2001 that his rematch clause with Hasim Rahman was to be enforced.

When Rahman had tried to get out of the Lewis rematch and fight Mike Tyson in a much more lucrative bout,  Lewis successfully argued to the court that the rematch should not just be enforced on the basis of what’s in the contract specified, but also because at the age of 35, his age and diminishing skills meant that having to wait longer for whatever happened with the potential Rahman-Tyson fight would irreparably harm his boxing career and financial gain.

The court sided with  Lewis, he got the rematch later in 2001 and kayoed Rahman with a single shot to regain his titles.

Wilder is in a similar position, as he is also 35 years old, hasn’t fought in 15 months, and is facing the very real possibility that if the arbitrator had not ruled his way, that Fury was never going to fight him, again.

Hear more on the arbitrator’s ruling, and what it means for what happens next off our Big Fight Weekend podcast with legal analyst Dan Lust of the nationwide Geragos Law Firm by clicking below:

The bottom line to the whole situation is that Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn could never secure the financing to make the proposed Joshua-Fury fight happen over the last six months. This, as Fury and his side had seemingly walked away from the Wilder rematch possibility last Winter.

And, things dragged on and on for the last few months, allowing the arbitration ruling to create the huge obstacle that will now likely mean, per Weinstein’s ruling, that Fury and Wilder are fighting later Summer in the U.S. and probably, Las Vegas.

Now, it appears that Joshua will have no choice but to fight WBO #1 contender Oleksandr Usyk or be stripped of their version of the belts. The WBO ordered Hearn on Wednesday to either demonstrate that Joshua-Fury was happening in the next 48 hours or they would order the Usyk fight.

And, if Fury doesn’t honor the arbitrator’s ruling, then the WBC would likely strip him for failing to honor the rematch clause and fight their former champ, Wilder.

So much, for Undisputed.