BestofBets.com

As Fury has come out saying he’ll never fight Anthony Joshua in a Battle of Britain bout following the failed negotiations, BestofBets.com spoke to former WBC cruiserweight Champion Tony Bellew about why this fight was doomed from the very start.

What do you make out of all the headlines that Fury now is saying he’ll never ever fight AJ?

Tony Bellew: “To be honest…the writing has been on the wall from the very start and it was pretty clear that Fury didn’t want this fight to happen; and I don’t think he thought that AJ would agree to all the terms and dates put in front of him. But he did and in response to that, Fury did whatever it took to stop this fight; yet, blamed Joshua and his team.

“It’s ridiculous that Fury is saying that AJ was ‘wasting his time over the last four years’ when it was Fury who pulled out of the last fight due to his agreement with Wilder.

“Joshua was ready to go ahead – he has all to prove and nothing to lose so there’s little point for him to back down. Furthermore, fitness wise, AJ is a machine. He doesn’t need any warmup fights, he’s good to do whenever; he’s always in shape and he always wants the next best and biggest possible challenge.

“And when the next biggest possible challenge is Tyson Fury, he wasn’t going to shy away from that. But for some reason, Fury never truly wanted this fight; so whether it was a way to create headlines or something else, I don’t know. But it was always a bit strange that Fury went for AJ, seeing that apart from his popularity, AJ hasn’t got anything that Fury wants – if anything it’s the other way around. So this was purely about money and a big pay check.

“But the fact that Fury was making a big song and dance about AJ purposely delaying signing the contract was questionable seeing that AJ has agreed to every single part of it; yes verbally, but everyone knows, including Fury, that AJ and his team wouldn’t go back on that…and for Fury, that’s a dangerous game to play and it’s not the first time Fury puts Joshua and his camp in this situation. And now, as it turns out, Fury is ramping up new headlines about how he’ll never fight Joshua – it’s all a bit silly.

“I genuinely think Fury’s team thought AJ would be intimidated when called out by Fury as they didn’t expect him to be up for it – especially after his defeats to Usyk.

“To be honest, I’m not surprised about what happened and the fact that this fight will never happen. It’s a real shame as what a fight it’d been. But as many things in life…if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

“The whole things has been handled so badly too. It’s a shame for the sport especially as boxing has become more popular than ever.”

Do you think Fury will fight Usyk next?

Tony: “Fury is the greatest heavyweight of his generation right now. However, for him to really truly define an era and a generation, he has to defeat Oleksandr Usyk. And considering Usyk is just a middleweight, I don’t see a problem really; especially as Fury is constantly making fun of AJ and how lost against a middleweight and how he can easily take him.

“However, when it comes down to it, it’s pretty obvious that Fury is worried, which is why he’s not taking the fight. But now when the AJ fight won’t happen, I think he’ll have to agree to fight Usyk as any other fight is pointless and would simply be a cash grab. And if it’s all about cash, the wisest move would have been to fight Joshua.

“It’s all mind games from Fury but time will tell as he’ll have to agree to a fight sooner rather than later. And it’ll be interesting to see who AJ will fight next – he’s ready and stronger than ever so regardless of who it’ll be, it’ll be a great fight.”

According to latest odds, AJ is 2/1 to fight Joe Joyce on the 17th December and an announcement is set to be imminent.

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Following the breakdown in negotiations between Fury vs. Joshua, BestofBets.com spoke to Tony Bellew about the bout and why it may just still be on…

In your opinion, do think the Fury v Joshua fight is dead in the water? 

Tony: “It’s an interesting one and although I’m not sure how keen Fury is to actually fight Joshua, I think the negotiations were very far down the line, although not signed by AJ’s camp, so the introduction of a deadline and scaremongering about the fight now not taking place, could be very smart tactics to ramp up as much publicity and buzz as possible seeing that the fight is just weeks away on the 3rd December.

“The fact that it’s the end of September already and a fight like this needs a lot more than a couple of months build up – in fact, much more! Something of this magnitude needs to be built up slowly and gradually, giving boxing fans a proper insight in the run-up to the fight – from press conferences to behind-the-scenes footage in training camps and other stories. And even though we know a lot about these two fighters already, it does need a big, big build up. And it’s impossible to get that done between now and then…unless you go down this route where you know that even people who aren’t that interested in boxing will now be interested to see what happens with this fight – I mean they’ve build an audience around this ‘drama’ that we haven’t seen before. So perhaps, there is a glimmer of hope in this saga after all. We’ve seen crazier things happening in boxing.

“At the end of the day, should this fight be confirmed, that is one crazy build-up; but effective. And whilst ’negotiations’ are taking place, we’re watching Fury and AJ’s every single step so mission accomplished.

“Controversial – yes. Impossible – no!”

Usyk is an incredible fighter, everyone knows it and everyone can see it. So, do you think Tyson Fury is the only man that could beat Usyk at the moment?

Tony: “Well it depends – as if Deontay Wilder lands that punch, he’s going to win. You can never write him off but I’m not sure that fight will happen. Personally, Usyk has enough on his plate and he’ll only fight if he knows that he gets something out of it, such as Fury’s belts. Otherwise, for him, it’s pointless. Different from Fury who’s all about the chat on social media; Usyk isn’t like that.

“Having said that, Tyson, judging by his size, should beat anyone. If I was six foot nine and weighed 20 stone, I’d invade Russia, never mind f***ing box. So, when you’re that big and that heavy, you should not be beaten.

“It’s a very true saying, a good big man will always beat a good little man, it’s just how good can the little man be. I believe Oleksandr Usyk is the only person right now who’s got a thoroughbred chance of defeating Tyson Fury. I believe Fury can lose, because I’ve seen him on the floor and hurt too many times to weaker fighters and lesser fighters than himself. I’ve seen him pushed all the way. So, I do believe other people could beat Tyson Fury, but I do think there’s only one person that could beat Oleksandr Usyk.”
 
When the announcement of the negotiations for Fury and Joshua were made, fairly soon after, Usyk called out [Deontay] Wilder essentially. Do you think he’s trying to dodge Fury? Is he looking for an easy opponent? Does he want to hold the title for longer?

Tony: “Fury is the greatest heavyweight of his generation right now. However, for him to really truly define an era and a generation, he has to defeat Oleksandr Usyk. And considering Usyk is just a middleweight, I don’t see a problem really. But for some reason, Fury is worried, which is why he’s not taking the fight and instead, at that point he opted for AJ, which is a strange move.

“But anyone he beats next, whether it’s [Manuel] Charr or AJ or anyone else, he has to beat Usyk so technically, any other fight is pointless and would simply be a cash grab. And if it’s all about cash, the wisest move would to have gone ahead with the AJ fight.”

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