WBC heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury has ruled out the possibility of participating in a four-man tournament which featuring British boxer, Anthony Joshua.
Four months into the year and the ‘Gypsy King’ has yet to step in the ring despite series of negotiations with Oleksandr Usyk over an undisputed fight – it ended in failure to reach an agreement.
Radio host Simon Jordan, during a programme last week suggested that negotiations were underway for a four-man tournament featuring Fury, who would face Usyk, while Joshua could step in the ring with Deontay Wilder on the same night.
These claims were apparently confirmed by Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott, who revealed that negotiations were underway. Also Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn admitted that Saudi Arabia had expressed interest in the idea.
But Fury quickly dismissed the fan-friendly format in a post on his Instagram story.
The WBC champion wrote; “I can confirm that these rumours are absolute bulls***.”
He hasn’t fought any contender since he stopped Derek Chisora in a routine trilogy bout last December. But Fury in a recent post shared a picture of himself returning to the gym alongside training partner Joseph Parker, which sparked speculation that he could be looking at a return date.
Meanwhile, Joshua returned to his winning ways early April when he defeated Franklin by unanimous decision at the 02 Arena in London to get the crucial win in his first fight since his September 2022 loss to Oleksandr Uysk in Saudi Arabia.
He was subsequently praised by Nigeria’s Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, saying;“The former world champion demonstrated the heart of a lion in the encounter and his victory was well-deserved.’’