Tyson Fury manager Spencer Brown has admitted growing concerns that Anthony Joshua could walk away from their heavyweight showdown as negotiations over dates and venues drag on.
The warning comes despite streaming giant Netflix releasing a promotional trailer on Tuesday during its WWE RAW broadcast labelled "Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua - Coming Soon," which sparked speculation that an official announcement was imminent.
However, no official date or venue has been confirmed for the contest, leaving Fury's camp increasingly frustrated by the delay.
Doubts grow over heavyweight clash
Speaking exclusively to interviewer Dev Sahni, Brown revealed that the prolonged wait for the fight to be finalized is raising fresh doubts over whether the two former world champions will ever meet in the ring.
Fury had previously expressed concerns about whether the Joshua fight would materialize following his victory over Polish heavyweight Mariusz Wach in Thailand in July, which served as his final warm-up contest.
"Everybody's got a bit of doubt in their mind," Brown said. "There's reasons you could think that."
"If you'd asked me a week ago, I'd have said no, but now it's a little bit concerning that things haven't progressed down the line. We need to get this fight on."
Fury and Joshua have stood as the two premier heavyweight fighters in British boxing for more than a decade. Fury, a former WBC and unified world heavyweight champion, has long traded verbal barbs with Joshua, a two-time former unified champion and 2012 Olympic gold medallist. Previous negotiations to arrange an all-British showdown have repeatedly collapsed over venue selection, broadcast rights, and financial terms.
Wembley hopes fade as Madison Square Garden leads
The choice of venue has become a major sticking point in the current discussions. New York's Madison Square Garden appears to be the frontrunner to host the fight, despite Joshua insisting that the contest must take place in the UK.
Brown confirmed that every effort had been made to stage the fight at Wembley Stadium in London, but conceded that hopes of securing the 90,000-capacity national arena are rapidly fading.
"You can't keep flogging a dead horse, can you?" Brown said. "We've been flogging a dead horse for months now. We've waited and waited to do it at Wembley. The hope is fading that it's going to be at Wembley."
He warned that continuing delays could damage fan engagement. "A decision must be made. Let's get the fight on wherever it is, whether it's in Timbuktu or whether it's in Wembley Stadium," Brown added. "We just want to get it announced. People are getting bored. We're in danger of really boring people."
Promoter Eddie Hearn has previously claimed that Joshua feels a responsibility to British boxing fans to ensure the clash takes place on home soil. Conversely, trainer Joe Gallagher spoke on the Toe2Toe podcast in support of staging the fight at Madison Square Garden, the iconic Manhattan venue known historically as the Mecca of Boxing.
Fury ready for training camp
Despite the promotional impasse, Brown insisted that Fury is eager to begin training camp immediately once a date is locked in.
"All I can say is that we're ready to rock and roll, we're ready to fight," Brown said. "Tyson wants to get into camp this week so we're looking for an announcement this week. We want it done. We want to get it out of the way."
Brown added that team logistics are already in place. "I think it's all ready to go. The bags are packed. All the team are ready to go. We've pre-empted everything. We're just waiting for the go button."
Fury also posted a video message on social media under his handle @tysonfury stating that "big news" was coming soon. Brown acknowledged that he has had to reassure Fury as delays persisted.
"It's gone further and further and further. I'm sitting there convincing him that it's going to happen," Brown said.
He noted that Fury's confidence in the fight happening had increased in recent weeks despite the ongoing negotiations. "I think he's now more confident of it happening, a lot more confident than what we was. But he's going to fight whatever happens."
