Anthony Joshua has been labelled an ‘idiot’ and a ‘coward’ after missing Tyson Fury’s deadline to sign the contract for their planned blockbuster fight.
Joshua was offered the proposition of becoming world heavyweight boxing champion once again by Fury despite his second defeat at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk.
Having seemingly lost his shot at a title after two losses on the bounce, AJ was given another chance by the Gypsy King in a potential clash which would finally settle the scores between the two British fighters.
Both had seemed in agreement for a fight to take place in December after back-and-forths on social media. But an impatient Fury claimed he would move on from the fight on the weekend if Joshua did not put pen to paper on Monday, which the latter apparently failed to do.
Fury took to social media to post a video message, saying: “Well guys, it’s official. D-Day has come and gone, it’s gone past 5’o’clock Monday and no contract has been signed.
“It’s officially over for Joshua, he’s now out in the cold with the wolf pack. Forget about it. Idiot, coward, s***house, bodybuilder.
“Always knew you didn’t have the minerals to fight the Gyspy King. Regardless of what you say now, I don’t really care. Good luck with your career and your life, end of.”
Joshua, 32, suffered a second straight loss to Ukraine’s WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in a title rematch in Saudi Arabia last month and said he wanted to return to the ring before the end of the year.
When Fury challenged Joshua, the champion also said he would select another opponent if his fellow Briton was not interested in the bout.
Usyk said after the fight in Jeddah that he was only interested in fighting Fury but media reports have said he will not fight again this year in order to rest and spend time with his family.
