The decision by Tyson Fury to wear a ‘Nigeria’ gumshield for his clash with Deontay Wilder last week is a clear indication of where his head is at in regards to Anthony Joshua.
As fans continue to clamor for the pair to duke it out next, Fury used his opportunity on the biggest boxing stage of all to send a message to AJ.
Boasting the mouthguard, pre-meditated and planned by Fury, would certainly put Joshua in future plans for a massive UK blockbuster.
Yet to formally address why he sported the attire, ‘The Gypsy King’ may well be looking towards Joshua – rather than a third fight with Wilder.
But as Fury’s US promoter Bob Arum told WBN over the past few days, a contract is in place for Wilder III and it will not be broken.
“What’s happening at the moment is that Fury has a contract with Wilder,” Arum exclusively told World Boxing News.
“Wilder, unless he opts out, has the absolute right to call for the third fight based on a 60-40 split.
“As far as Fury is concerned, and as far as Top Rank are concerned, we are men of our word. We have a contract. And we are not running off to fight somebody else.
“We are not breaking the contract. We are going to honor that contract with Wilder.
“I think Wilder will give a much better performance in this fight than he did in the last fight.
“But that’s it. End of Fury (vs Joshua) talk.”
At present, the only way Fury could negate on the Wilder trilogy would be if he did similar to when he defeated Wladimir Klitschko.
Dropping out of the sport, being stripped of his belts and ripping up his contracts with Top Rank and Frank Warren are the only possible outcome. All four are highly unlikely to take place.
Therefore, Fury vs Joshua is on hold, for now.
