Don’t blame Anthony Joshua for not participating in Tyson Fury’s theatrics

British boxer Anthony Joshua is seen ringside ahead of the heavyweight fight between Britain's Tyson Fury and Russia's Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London on April 11, 2026. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images

Tyson Fury wanted to make a big show out of challenging Anthony Joshua to a fight yesterday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, following Fury’s predicable comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Joshua didn’t really oblige. When asked/commanded by Fury and Turki Alalshikh to come into the ring for Fury’s challenge, Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn instead stayed ringside. Hearn stood, Joshua sat. Despite attempts by Fury to goad Joshua in with insults — “big shithouse” and the usual fare — Joshua stayed relaxed. He did get a microphone, though.

“Tyson, you’re a clout-chaser,” Joshua said. “I’ve never had no problem getting in the ring with you. I’ve punched you up when we were kids, and after watching you tonight, I’ll punch you up again. With all due respect, tonight is your night, and you know I’ll sit across that ring from you in due time.”

“You ain’t gonna tell me what to do,” he added. “I’ve been chasing you for 10 years. When you’re ready, you come and see me, and tell me your terms and conditions, and I’ll have you in the ring when I’m ready. I’m the boss. You work for me. I’m the landlord. Remember that. You work for me.”

In his post-fight press conference, we got another predictable Fury outing. As anyone neutral on the issue might have suspected, he leaned harder into what was pretty clearly an attempt to bully the discussion and urge the people to look favorably upon his side of the story.

The idea is for fans to blame Anthony Joshua for not going into the ring and enthusiastically participating in a WWE-style bit of theatrics. It makes Joshua look weak and afraid. It makes Fury look strong, daring, and bold.

Challenge Joshua. If he doesn’t accept, he looks like a coward in front of 60,000 in the stadium and however many millions watching on Netflix. People will buy this because it will make sense to them. A guy got challenged to a fight. He didn’t accept. He’s a coward.

Boxing, though, is not a schoolyard scrap, and Fury isn’t asking his class nemesis to meet him at the swings after school to settle a dispute over line cutting or lunch money.

The promoters and organizers of boxing have explained away criticisms for many years with the reminder, always, that boxing is a business. Ahead of being a sport, even, it’s a business. Fans and media are meant to remember that when something that seems like it should happen doesn’t.

Well, Tyson Fury fights are big business. So are Anthony Joshua fights. Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua is very big business, indeed. If real negotiation has not taken place, a real deal is not in place, why on earth should Anthony Joshua be expected to leap into the ring for some phony face-off?

From the Fury perspective, there was nothing to lose. If Joshua declines participation, you can say he’s a coward. If he does it, and then an actual deal doesn’t come together, you can say he’s a coward who backed out of what he agreed to do. If the terms were absurd and Joshua and Co. didn’t accept, who will ever really know? Your word against theirs.

“He come here for the job, and I asked him to do the fight. He should have got in there and did it, but he didn’t give an answer,” Fury said in his press conference.

“To my opinion, he didn’t want no smoke. He didn’t want it. He didn’t look like he wanted it, he was just shell-shocked, he didn’t know what to say. … If it was me, I’d have jumped in that ring, faced off, let’s get it on. 10 years in the making, and still after all this time, there’s still uncertainty as to if this fight’s gonna happen next. I don’t know.”

Fury, sat next to promoter Frank Warren — who would occasionally quietly chime in with things Tyson should mention — is saying he has signed a contract to fight Joshua, and that he has had it signed for some time. When he wondered aloud if Joshua had signed the contract, Warren piped up and said he has not.

What contract Fury has supposedly signed — if it exists at all — is not clear. But you can draw up a contract that says basically anything and have Fury sign it. It doesn’t mean it’s a deal Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn would accept. And it doesn’t mean they’re wrong if the terms are not to their liking.

Don’t take the bait. Don’t rush to blame Anthony Joshua or Eddie Hearn for not “creating” a fake “moment” with Tyson Fury yesterday. As usual, Tyson has said a lot of things that make for great, reaction-driven YouTube and social media quasi-headlines. “AJ WANTS NO SMOKE!” and whatnot.

But if you look at this from a less internet-ready perspective, it’s very simple: Fury says he wants the fight. Joshua says he’ll do the fight. It is the fight to make for both. Sit down at the table and hammer out the deal.

If it doesn’t get done, both sides will blame the other. The numbers weren’t right, or the other side was never really interested, and one or both will have “not wanted the smoke.” Maybe it really will be that Joshua didn’t want it. Maybe, despite the bluster, Fury will truly be the one to blame. Again, who will ever really know? One side’s word against the other.

But none of it will have anything to do with what did or didn’t happen yesterday in what may soon be English football’s most glorious second tier home stadium. What we saw and everything we heard was a narrative spinning play and, without contracts signed and without real negotiation having taken place, absolutely nothing more.

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