Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua may not be dead in the water yet.
Fury sent a social media message to his heavyweight rival on Thursday morning, calling on him to get the contracts signed TODAY.
The Gypsy King had called off the fight on Monday due to a missed deadline, but now it appears he has offered an extension.
The WBC heavyweight champion surprisingly offered AJ the chance to fight for the belt after Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the other major titles, said he wouldn’t return until 2023.
Contracts had been sent between the two sides, with Joshua split 60/40 and agreeing to a December 3 date in Cardiff.
A number of other details needed to be ironed out, but Fury’s Monday deadline came and went.
Promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn continued to negotiate behind the scenes, however, and Fury gave an update on Thursday – teasing that it could still happen if Joshua wanted it to.
“Okay, Anthony Joshua…where to start,” he said in a video on Twitter. “The deadline was Monday. Frank Warren asked me and convinced me to let him continue for a few days.
“It’s Thursday today. Even though I knew you wouldn’t sign the contract, I allowed Frank to continue having meetings with your team and the broadcasters and all that.
“Now we have BT, DAZN and ESPN on the same page. They’re happy with everything. They’re all happy and ready to rock ‘n’ roll.
“You asked for a lot of things. You asked to be co-promoters while you are a voluntary challenger. I said “you know what, give it to them”. Let them be co-promoters”.
“You wanted full transparency, even though you’re not an equal party. I said “give them full transparency”. I have nothing to hide, I’m not trying to rob anyone. I’ve never stolen a penny from anyone in my life.
“Now you have full transparency, everything is clean and fair. Now Joshua, the ball is in your court, son. It’s all over.
“If you’re a man and you have any kind of dignity and pride, you’d get that contract signed today.
“There are no more days, weeks, months. You’ve had the contract for more than two weeks and you still haven’t signed it.
“Show the public that you really are a big coward, like I know you are, and don’t sign it.
“I don’t care if you sign it or not. It makes no difference to me. You are a beaten man and I am a world champion.
“I’m throwing you a bone, but I know I can punch you in the face and I’m ready to give you an opportunity.
” There is nothing more to do. Everybody is happy. Put your team on mine, they’ll be available all day, like they’ve been for the past two weeks.
“Get that contract signed today, you f****. Let the UK fans have what they want. There’s no more umm. You gotta fight me, you can’t escape. The Fury is coming… shit!