Tyson Fury has rejected Anthony Joshua's request to fight him on December 17 in Cardiff..
Fury made an offer to Joshua earlier this week which would see the British rivals clash for Fury's heavyweight world title before the end of the year. Joshua accepted a deal which would earn him 40 per cent of a potential £75million purse, but a dispute has broken out over the date of the showdown.
Fury initially wanted to face Joshua on November 12 and claimed Manchester United's Old Trafford ground has been booked. He then said he would be willing to fight Joshua on November 26 at Wembley or on December 3 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Joshua, who lost to Oleksandr Usyk less than three weeks, has asked, via promoter Eddie Hearn, to shift the fight to the week before Christmas. But Fury has put his foot down, saying in a comment on Instagram: "Nov 26 at Wembley or Dec 3 in Cardiff. That's the dates, take or leave."
Fury had earlier called into talkSPORT to discuss his offer to Joshua, and said: "I think it's more than generous. I didn't want to go in at 80/20 like they would do to me. I really want this fight to happen because [Oleksandr] Usyk the middleweight doesn't want no smoke like I thought he didn't and now I'm going after AJ. I've already beaten Wilder and there's only one other person and that's AJ the bodybuilder.
"Why not give him 40 per cent, no excuses, let's get the fight made for the British public. The Battle of Britain, who's going to win it, me or him? He only had a sparring contest [against Usyk] didn't he? He's match fit, coming off a training camp. I've seen they're trying to wriggle a bit with the dates.
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"We had Manchester United football ground booked for November 12 but they're saying that's too short. Even better, we've got Wembley stadium booked for November 26 and if he doesn't want that I even have December 3 in Cardiff, so take your pick you dosser."
Hearn has confirmed he has accepted the deal in principle but insists Joshua will fight on December 17, whether that is against Fury or not. He also claimed Fury's promoter Frank Warren has booked the Cardiff venue for that date while Fury had initially held talks over fighting Usyk on that same date in Saudi Arabia.
