Tyson Fury isn’t fully convinced Anthony Joshua will actually show up for their long-awaited showdown, and according to his brother, he’s made sure he’s covered either way.
The two British heavyweights are expected to finally meet on December 11, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium now emerging as the likely venue after the location standoff shifted away from an earlier plan to stage the fight at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Fury enters with momentum, having scored a seventh-round stoppage of Mariusz Wach in July after a clean unanimous decision over Arslanbek Makhmudov before that.
Both wins came with minimal danger. Joshua’s most recent outing was shakier by comparison; he needed to survive two knockdowns before finishing Kristian Prenga in the second round that same July weekend. That shakier performance appears to be part of why Fury remains skeptical Joshua will actually go through with the fight.
Speaking to Boxing King Media, Fury’s brother Shane revealed that Tyson had a clause written into his new contract guaranteeing him a replacement opponent on the same date and in the same venue if the Joshua fight falls through for any reason, adding plainly that Fury doesn’t believe Joshua will actually fight him.
Tyson’s put on his [new] contract that if, for any reason, this fight don’t happen … he will be fighting on the same date, [in the] same arena.
“Tyson don’t think Joshua will fight.
Despite that skepticism, both former two-time world champions have signed contracts to face each other, and an official announcement on the fight is expected soon.
