Having initially been greeted with expectation and excitement by boxing fans, the contract saga between the two British heavyweights is now widely being viewed as nauseating. Last Monday, Fury, who earlier this year had insisted he was retired after his KO win over Dillian Whyte, said he would be taking on Charr having lost patience with Joshua’s team.
However, on Thursday he performed another u-turn, claiming promoter Frank Warren had persuaded him to give his rival an extra few days. When again, no confirmation was forthcoming, ‘The Gypsy King’ declared his fight with the German veteran back on again.
Charr, 37, has had a modest professional career, racking up a 33-4 record at heavyweight level. His biggest night came back in 2012, where he was stopped in the fourth round by Vitali Klitschko, and he was also KO’d two years later by Alexander Povetkin.
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Hearn’s words appear to fuel the theory that Fury has no intention of taking on Joshua, but is seeking a ‘tune-up’ fight before a unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk in 2023. The Ukrainian has recently returned to his war-torn homeland following his win over Joshua in August.
Joyce meanwhile, propelled himself into the world title picture last month with a KO win over Joseph Parker. ‘The Juggernaut’ now has a 15-0 pro record and has also been touted as Joshua’s next opponent if the Fury fight doesn’t go ahead as planned.
AJ is one of the three names Joyce has listed himself as a dream next opponent, with Usyk and Fury making up the other fights the Juggernaut would love to happen.