“He’s got 12 good rounds under his belt,” Warren told talkSport Boxing. “Got the ring rust out of his system and hopefully now we’re going to start the big fight.
“It’s not on, is it? Because it wasn’t agreed upon. He wants it, Tyson. He’s made it very clear. You don’t have to ask me. You have to ask the other guy who AJ is. From Tyson’s point of view, he’d like to come out in August, September. No more warmups. If he doesn’t want to do that, Tyson will fight somebody else.”
That big fight remains the long-rumored clash with Anthony Joshua, but Warren quickly played down any suggestion that it was close to done. From Warren’s perspective, the situation is simple. Fury is ready.
At least there is a loose time frame on Fury’s part, with Warren indicating a preferred late summer return. Warren also shut down the idea of further tune-ups. If Joshua doesn’t engage, Fury moves on.
On Fury’s performance, Warren described a controlled performance that improved as the rounds went on, pointing out that Makhmudov’s size and physical approach presented its own kind of test after a long layoff.
“He did what he had to do. In the later rounds he caught him with good shots. He was in command,” Warren said.
The overall message was simple. Fury did his part by coming back and getting rounds in. The next step, and whether the biggest fight in British boxing finally takes place, now rests with Joshua.
Fury claimed immediately after the Makhmudov fight that he had already signed his half of the contract. However, Eddie Hearn countered by explaining Joshua did not enter the ring for a face-off because “nothing was signed.”
From Joshua’s perspective, getting in the ring without a final deal is just providing free promotion for a fight that might not happen.
With the fight likely involving Netflix, which aired the Makhmudov comeback, and Joshua’s longtime ties to DAZN, who gets what of the streaming rights is a major hurdle.
Reports suggest that while a 60/40 split could be agreed upon for the first fight, the terms of a possible rematch, and where that fight would take place, remains a bone of contention.
Joshua is coming off a car accident at the end of last year which reportedly killed two of his teammates. While he is back in training, his camp may feel he needs a proper outing before jumping into a career-defining clash with Fury.
