Journalist and boxing insider, Gareth A Davies, has had his say on the currently difficult negotiations for a showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in Cardiff on December 3.
The talks started in a very public way, more like WWE than WBC. But it worked, and for a moment there, it looked like we were going to get one of the biggest British heavyweight bouts of all time.
Then there’s the deadline from Fury’s side, the contract issues from Joshua’s side and finally, it looks unlikely to be done in time. According to ‘King of Gypsy’, he turned to a potential fight with Mahmoud Charr – a man who fought twice in five years and placed 19th. Eddie Hearn, AJ promoter, has said there is still hope, but they will not keep Fury’s timetable.
Tell IFL TVBoxing writer Gareth A Davies thinks we are seeing the beginning of the end of the negotiations.
“I don’t use the word ‘excuse’ for not doing the war, but it looks like they’re retreating. I understand Eddie Hearn’s opinion that it took a long time to get an agreement over the line and everything was signed. She said, she said, back-and-forth contracts — all of that, fair enough that they’re doing it. No questions at all. “
“I don’t know – I feel like there’s a retreat going on here. Those of us, if you will, are always skeptical that it will cross the line. It feels like one of the biggest pranks we’ve ever had.”
As he was pushed in which direction was backing, Davies thought for a moment before deciding on his answer.
“I think perhaps neither side wants to lose face at this point, and it [about] Who is the one who loses face the most in public? [eye].
I understand that both broadcasters, BT Sport and DAZN, are available to assist. Who is stepping back? I think if anyone, knows boxing and knows where we stand with the two fighters, I think it’s more likely that Joshua and Eddie are backing away.
While we’ve heard from Anthony that he wants to fight and that he’s happy to sign, the conditions have to be right. I think we might have backed AJ at this point because they weren’t happy with the terms and they couldn’t get the terms they wanted. Or, it’s an excuse of commercial value.”
Fans and pundits will likely be split in the middle over whose fault the negotiations started to fall apart, but the bottom line should be that – regardless of which side is to blame – we are almost miss a heavyweight match legend, probably as well.
