GRUDGE MATCH: JOHN FURY ACCEPTS CARL FROCH'S CHALLENGE FOR TYSON’S APRIL UNDERCARD FIGHT
John Fury is ready! Discover why he challenged Carl Froch to an April fight on Tyson’s homecoming undercard at Tottenham.
John Fury says he’s ready to fight Carl Froch on the undercard for Tyson Fury’s comeback in April.
So, here’s how all this kicked off. Tyson Fury, former heavyweight champ, held a press conference at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to announce he’s stepping back into the ring against Arslanbek Makhmudov. Tyson seemed pretty relaxed, even saying the reason he’s returning is that Anthony Joshua lost some friends in a car crash, and that really hit home for him.
But, classic John Fury, he turned up with Tyson and pretty much immediately got into a shouting match with a few people, including Carl Froch. You know, Froch, the guy who’s won the super-middleweight world title four times. Those two have history. Froch has never been shy about criticising John for his role in Tyson’s career.
After that blow-up at the press conference, John jumped online and said he’s up for fighting Froch on his son’s undercard. And it wasn’t just talk. When John spotted Froch at the event, he started hurling insults, calling him a "b****", just going off.
Froch fired back on his YouTube channel, basically saying, “Please, just leave us alone. You’re not going to do anything.” Then he called John out, telling him to “grow a set" and saying, “If you really want to fight, let’s do it right here, right now.”
John didn’t let that slide. Only a few days later, he posted a video, and you could see he was fired up. “Carl ‘The Worm’ Froch, you’ve got yourself a fight,” John said. He called Froch out to fight at Tottenham in eight weeks, right on Tyson’s undercard. John didn’t hold back, either; he taunted Froch, saying he’s nothing at heavyweight and would be a joke in the ring.
He kept it short, telling Froch to get Netflix involved to make it happen. “You can fight the father of the best heavyweight in the world,” John said, “and I’m not going to let a bum like you near beating me.” He finished with, “I don’t need six months’ training. I’m ready now, pal.”
Froch has been trying to get John in the ring for a while, even suggesting they fight on a Misfits boxing card, but nothing ever came from it. Now it’s looking real.
All this drama came right after John apologised to boxing pundit Steve Bunce for lashing out at him during the press conference. John said he lost his cool because Froch wound him up, and all the online trolls got under his skin. “Sometimes we’re all human; we’ve got feelings,” he said. “It can get to you, especially with a man like me.”
John also took a shot at Netflix for bringing Froch to the event, saying, “He hates Tyson, he hates the Fury family, why was he even there?” But at the end of the day, John’s ready to settle things in the ring. In April, in Tottenham, in eight weeks, he wants Froch to show up.
ANTHONY JOSHUA REJECTS POST-FIGHT RING FACE-OFF DESPITE FURY’S DECISIVE WIN OVER MAKHMUDOV
Eddie Hearn explains Anthony Joshua’s ring snub. Is the Fury vs AJ fight actually signed for this autumn?
Eddie Hearn laid it out pretty clearly: Anthony Joshua stayed out of the ring Saturday night and didn’t square off with Tyson Fury, even though Fury and Turki Alalshikh were both pushing hard for that dramatic moment to sell their big all-British fight for later this year.
Tyson Fury came back for yet another post-retirement bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, picking up a decisive win over Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov. It wasn’t much of a contest, really. Fury dominated, collected a unanimous decision, and then instantly shifted his attention to Anthony Joshua sitting at ringside. At one point, Joshua even whipped out his phone to record the fight.
Naturally, Fury grabbed the mic and did what he does best: he hyped up the idea of fighting Joshua next, telling the crowd (and Joshua himself) that this was the battle fans have been waiting for. He even called AJ into the ring on the spot.
But Joshua didn’t bite. He stayed put, calmly telling the crowd he’s ready to fight Fury and has been chasing it for a decade. No drama. No face-off.
Later, Fury and his camp went public. They said their side had signed the contracts weeks ago and put the blame for the holdup squarely on Joshua.
“We brought him here tonight to make this fight a done deal,” Fury said. “I’ve already signed. No idea if he has.”
Netflix, broadcasting the fight, amped things up even more by teasing that the huge British showdown would happen this autumn. But Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, pushed the decision back onto Joshua. “The only one who can confirm it is AJ,” he said. “It’s one man holding things up.”
Fury himself doubled down: “If it isn’t Anthony Joshua next, I’m done with boxing. It’s him, or I’m gone.”
On the other side, Joshua’s team fired back against any claims that AJ was running from the fight. Eddie Hearn, his promoter, explained why Joshua didn’t step into the ring: “He’s not interested in the theatrics if there’s no deal done. How many times has this fight supposedly been on? Years go by, nothing happens. Until something’s signed, it’s all just talk. AJ knows it’s Fury who really needs this, and he’ll fight him. We’re confident it happens, but right now, nothing is signed.”
And as for the talk about Joshua being scared? Hearn shut that down: “Scared of what, of that? Even Fury’s own fans feel the energy is different now. We don’t see anything other than an AJ win.”
"I WON'T BE THERE"—JOHN FURY BOYCOTTS TYSON'S TOTTENHAM HOMECOMING AGAINST MAKHMUDOV
John Fury confirms he will not attend Tyson Fury’s comeback against Makhmudov. Read why the father-son bond is "destroyed."
John Fury has already made up his mind: he won't be at his son Tyson's big comeback fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov.
It’s only been 15 months since Tyson Fury said he was done with boxing, but here he is, coming out of retirement for the fifth time. On Saturday night, he’ll step into the ring at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to take on Russia’s Makhmudov in a heavyweight clash.
Everyone’s talking about what comes next. If Fury wins, there’s buzz about finally seeing him face Anthony Joshua later this year. A rematch with Oleksandr Usyk is also floating around.
Fury says the reason for his return is personal. After a car crash killed some of Joshua’s friends last December, he says it hit him that life’s too short. He wants to live every day like it’s his last.
But not everyone’s on board, especially his dad, John. Out of everyone in Fury’s circle, John’s been the loudest in saying he doesn't want to see his son back in the ring. People have wondered if he’d even show up to the fight.
Turns out, he won’t. Mail Sport reported John won’t be at the event and is still flat-out against Tyson’s comeback, even though he did show up at the press conference back in February.
This isn’t coming out of nowhere. Just a few weeks ago, John admitted his relationship with Tyson had been badly damaged by this return to boxing.
"My relationship with Tyson is destroyed," he told Playbook Boxing. "Boxing destroyed it completely. I'll say it on camera: I've never taken £10 off him in my life and I never will.
"I don't want Tyson's money, and I don't need Tyson's money. Whatever he's got, good luck to him. But don’t forget who built his story when he was a kid. He didn't build it himself, did he? Me, his father.
"I was 30 seconds away from asking for a break there. I haven't really expressed these emotions before, but they're strong, and they're there.
"I think he's past his best. I'm a no-filter kind of guy. I say it how I see it. I love him, but there are too many people patting him on the back and telling him things that aren't true, building him up like he's invincible. He's not, and he hasn't been for a while."
John isn’t the only one who feels this way. Tyson’s wife, Paris and his brother Tommy have also spoken up about wanting him to stay retired.
"If you asked any one of his family if we want to see him keep boxing, the answer would be a big ‘no’ from all of us," Tommy said to Bloody Elbow. "That’s everyone, because we care about his health."
