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The massive heavyweight superfight that would be Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis 20 years ago took a giant step toward becoming a reality on Monday when it was revealed that Fury’s advisor MTK Global had signed a non-disclosure agreement with a “Middle Eastern country”.
Per The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger, an NDA was also signed by officials from Queensberry Promotions (Fury’s co-promoters) and Matchroom Boxing (Joshua’s promoters).
Tyson Fury’s advisor, MTK Global, tells The Athletic it signed an NDA with a Middle Eastern country regarding possibility of a Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua fight. NDA also signed by officials from Matchroom and Queensberry, per sources. Latest on Fury-Joshua
The next step in the process, which was first outlined in an ESPN story last week, would be for the organizers to come up with a financial package for the proposed Fury vs. Joshua bout. That number would have to be large enough for Fury to pay step-aside money to former WBC titleholder Deontay Wilder who contractually has the next shot at Fury.
As Coppinger writes on Twitter, “First, the offer to host the fight has to come from one of the interested countries. Then, if the offer is substantial enough, Team Wilder would be approached about the possibility of a step-aside.”
Fury vs. Wilder 3 Might Be Postponed
In February, Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) stopped Wilder in the seventh round of a rematch to solidify his claim to being the best heavyweight in the world. Fury has long been the so-called “lineal” heavyweight champion by virtue of his 2015 win over Wladimir Klitschko. After beating Wilder earlier this year, though, Fury also netted the WBC title belt as well as designations as heavyweight champ per media panels The Ring magazine and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
But after Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) enacted his rematch clause, the third fight between Fury and Wilder was on the way this summer before the global COVID-19 pandemic postponed the presumed bout and a subsequently revealed injury to Wilder perhaps cracked the door open for Fury vs. Joshua.
So Fury vs. Wilder 3 might be postponed until after Fury vs. Joshua so that Wilder can get paid a hefty sum of money for simply waiting for the winner of Fury vs. Joshua to emerge.
Meanwhile, Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) defeated Andy Ruiz via decision in December 2019 in Saudi Arabia to reclaim the WBA, WBO and IBF titles he shockingly lost to Ruiz via seventh-round stoppage six months prior.
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Fury vs. Joshua Seems a Legit Possibility
Last week, ESPN reported Fury vs. Joshua “negotiations [were] underway for a potential blockbuster heavyweight title unification fight” between the two champions “in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula.”
While Coppinger noted on Monday that negotiations hadn’t actually begun just yet, Monday’s news of the NDA between all the parties suggests that stance is really just splitting hairs.
Whatever you want to call it, the plain truth of the matter is that something is going on right now between the various different stakeholders representing Fury and Joshua and that something could lead to Fury vs. Joshua happening next over Fury vs. Wilder or any other fight for either man.
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