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Home » Tyson Fury needs Deontay Wilder’s bargaining chip as Anthony Joshua offers fall on deaf ears

Tyson Fury needs Deontay Wilder’s bargaining chip as Anthony Joshua offers fall on deaf ears

Fury, 28, doesn’t seem to want to wait despite being out of action for over two years and is beginning to sound a little desperate for the payday that comes with challenging Joshua.

Does Fury need the money? Who knows, but in his latest tweet, ‘2 Fast’ made a ridiculous winner takes all offer that will seemingly not help him in future negotiations.

“To prove this fight is not about a few measly pounds for me, I’ll do a winner take all! (The) loser gets nothing but a beating and that loser will be you,” said Fury before later adding: “Don’t be fooled by this fraud (Anthony Joshua) trying to con the boxing fans.

“He struggled with a 41-year-old man in Wladimir after I schooled him!

“Then made hard work of (Carlos) Takam who took the fight on 11 days notice, I’m the real Don of the heavyweights – If only he had the heart to fight me.”

In a previous tweet, which somewhat contradicts these latest comments, Fury had outlined his demands of wanting a 60-40 split of any deal.

Fury already enjoys a rocky relationship with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn but wanting an all or nothing deal will only serve to antagonize ‘AJ’ in negotiations.

Joshua played hardball with Joseph Parker for weeks before they eventually came to an agreement for a spring unification, leaving Fury in a potentially precarious position for when his turn comes.

Craving the fight now looks to be the wrong move on more than one level and Fury needs to get back in the ring, take a few lesser purses and be ready when the call comes.

At this point in time, the summer of 2019 is the most likely date Joshua would accept judging by recent comments but with Deontay Wilder also out there, Fury may well be better off turning his immediate attention to the American.

Gaining that WBC title bargaining chip would push Fury into a much stronger place than simply returning from a long absence, with Wilder free to negotiate an alternative to the Joshua fight WBC President had recently called for.

All Fury would have to do is meet someone in the WBC Top 15 over the coming months, with the likes of Agit Kabayel, Charles Martin and old rival Dereck Chisora in the mix.

Phil Jay is Editor of World Boxing News. Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay