LONDON — Tyson Fury has indicated his long-awaited fight with Anthony Joshua is off and challenged Oleksandr Usyk to a trilogy bout in November instead.
Negotiations for a lucrative all-British fight between former heavyweight champions Fury and Joshua have dragged on without a firm date or venue, and key financial questions left open.
In a video packed with insults and expletives on Instagram late Sunday, Fury laid the blame with Joshua, branding him “weak-minded” and suggesting he lacked the courage to take the fight. “This will only lead me to a fight with Oleksandr Usyk,” Fury said.
The Ukrainian vacated his three heavyweight world titles in June and said he wanted one “last dance” fight before retirement.
“You got the decisions last time, fair play to you. Good luck to you, well, let’s do it again. Let’s run it back in November. The ball is now in your court, Oleksandr,” Fury added. “Do you want to fight me this year, 2026, or are you calling quits? Let me know because I am now looking for a new opponent.”
Usyk (25-0) became the first undisputed world heavyweight champion in 24 years when he beat Fury by decision in May 2024, and he outpointed the British fighter again in their rematch seven months later.
Fury (36-2-1) and Joshua (30-4) both won tuneup fights in July that were expected to be a prelude to their all-British bout, though Joshua came near to a shock loss when he was knocked down twice by Kristian Prenga.
Usyk, too, looked short of his best in his stoppage win over Rico Verhoeven, a Dutch kickboxer fighting as a boxer for just the second time, in May.
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