Although Tyson Fury's proposed bout with Anthony Joshua appears to be dead in the water, the latter remains in the WBC heavyweight champion's head.

That is according to Fury's next opponent, Derek Chisora.

The Gypsy King will defend his title against Chisora on December 3 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what will be the third fight between the pair.

Fury beat Chisora when they first met in 2011, before also defeating him almost eight years ago.

A deal recently seemed to have been reached for Fury to face Joshua, with both parties appearing optimistic about contracts being signed.

However, after missing a deadline imposed by Fury, the champion's camp called negotiations off and instead turned attention to a bout against Chisora.

Despite being the new contender, Chisora has claimed Fury is unable to take his focus off Joshua, and defended AJ's decision not to sign the deal.

"AJ is living in Tyson's head rent-free," Chisora said. "Tyson wakes up every day thinking about AJ and cannot do an interview without mentioning AJ.

"AJ is off living his life, doing his own thing. I don't know why Tyson keeps talking about AJ.

"AJ could not take the fight because there were so many complications with sponsors and promoters.

"The fighters always want to fight, just fight, but the complications come from the business people around them who get in the way."

Tyson Fury is considering becoming the new owner of Morecambe to throw "millions" at the League One club.

The WBC world heavyweight champion already has his ‘Gypsy King’ brand embroidered on the Shrimps' shorts.

After it was announced Fury will face Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a trilogy fight on December 3, the unbeaten 34-year-old revealed he is mulling over a takeover of the club in the seaside town where he lives.

He told talkSPORT on Thursday: "Quick question, I'm thinking about buying Morecambe Football Club, they're in League One at the moment.

"So I was thinking I invest X amount of millions in them."

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan replied: "By invest you mean throw it at them, invest is the wrong term."

Fury said: "Yeah, basically throw it at them and keep them going up. I've been offered to buy Morecambe Football Club.

"I own all the training facilities anyway and the training gym. So who knows? You might be looking at a football club owner."

Jordan asked Fury: "You know how to make a small fortune in football?”

The world champion responded: "Start off with a bigger one! It's the same as being a boxing promoter."

Tyson Fury praised Derek Chisora for accepting a December 3 fight, aiming a not-so-subtle dig towards Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.

The two heavyweights will go toe-to-toe at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Fury's WBC belt on the line, after the Gypsy King was unable to secure an agreement to fight either Usyk or Joshua.

That led to disappointment among fans, with the initial reception for a trilogy bout against Chisora not a positive one, but Fury always intended to fight before the end of the year and says his opponent has "balls" which others in the division lack.

"You've got the so-called guys in the division, the 'top guys', we offer them fights but there's no smoke. You offer it to Chisora, boom, he's sat here opposite me," Fury said in Thursday's press conference.

"The man has got balls. In today's society, in this boxing game, there's a lack of balls. You know who you are, these people who don't want smoke.

"With Chisora, he does what it says on the tin, he goes to war. We're going to get a war. I did outbox him comfortably the second time, but his style has changed and so has mine.

"When you've got two heavy forces colliding with two heavy bombs, someone is getting knocked out. If he lands a big punch on me, I'm getting knocked out. If I land a big swing on him, he's getting knocked out.

"The fans are going to win, 100 per cent. I promised Chisora for years that we would have a third fight. We're going to put on a hell of a fight."

Promoter Frank Warren has outlined Fury's future in the ring beyond the trilogy bout against Chisora, with a proposed unification bout against Usyk still planned for the first quarter of next year.

"If Tyson comes through December 3, he's going to fight Oleksandr Usyk and after that he may wind up fighting Joe Joyce," Warren told TalkSport.

Tyson Fury will fight Derek Chisora for a third time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a proposed bout with Anthony Joshua fell through.

Talks over a fight between Fury and Joshua fell through, but there will be another all-British heavyweight battle in London.

WBC champion Fury will defend his title against Chisora, who he beat when they first met in 2011 and got the better of again almost eight years ago.

Fury intends to fight Oleksandr Usyk in a bid to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion in the first part of 2023, but next up will be Chisora.

The unbeaten 'Gypsy King' earned a unanimous decision when he fought Chisora for the first time and had his arms raised again after his fellow Englishman was retired by his corner at the end of the 10th round in their rematch at Wembley.

Fury, 34, insisted he had retired after stopping Dillian Whyte in April, but it was no surprise when he made a U-turn to resume his career.

Unbeaten in 33 fights, the 34-year-old will be a strong favourite to beat Chisora for a third time.

The 38-year-old Chisora stopped Kubrat Pulev in his last bout at the O2 Arena in London, taking his record to 33 victories and 12 defeats.

WBA world champion Daniel Dubois will make a first defence of his belt against South African southpaw Kevin Lerena on the undercard.

Frank Warren, Fury's promoter, said: "I am thrilled to be delivering a Tyson Fury world title defence in front of the British fans in London. Tyson clearly conquered America across his trilogy with Deontay Wilder and there is also huge demand to stage his fights from sites across the world.

"Tyson wanted to fight in his home country again this year following his special night at Wembley Stadium in April. This brings us to the magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a match against an old rival in Derek Chisora.

"Derek, also a big favourite with British fans, has reinvented himself in recent years and Tyson has long stated his wish to fight him for a third time.

"Tyson can't afford any slip-up in this fight as he has the much-publicised undisputed match-up with Usyk in the new year which we're really looking forward to."

Tyson Fury's promoter Frank Warren revealed the 'Gypsy King' is set to face Derek Chisora for a third time in December after talks over a bout with Anthony Joshua broke down.

Fury U-turned on a decision to retire following April's win over Dillian Whyte and appeared set to meet Joshua after offering him the chance for a WBC heavyweight championship fight last month.

Warren said that fight was "90 per cent" finalised in mid-September, but talks have since broken down, with Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn declaring he would not "play a game" with Fury last week.

With Oleksandr Usyk prepared to wait until 2023 for his next fight, Fury now appears set for a trilogy bout with Chisora, whom he defeated in July 2011 and November 2014.

Asked about the breakdown in talks with Joshua's camp, Warren told iFL TV: "Obviously that caused a big problem, it went on for three or four weeks and we've been struggling to get an opponent. 

"We've got the highest-ranked opponent now, which is Derek Chisora. That's where we'll be going and that will be on December 3.

"What it's all about is, Tyson will have had one fight in one year, and we were expecting the fight in December would be Usyk, but Usyk wasn't available.

"Now that looks like – I hope – going on at some time in February, so Tyson wants a fight before then and wants to get out, that's where we're at. If he fights Chisora and comes through that, then he's got the big one.

"Tyson's head and shoulders above them all anyway. Derek might give him more of a fight than Anthony Joshua – I'm not being disrespectful, I just think he [AJ] is more vulnerable."

While the fight is yet to be formally agreed, Fury has long desired another meeting with Chisora, saying in August: "I'd always said I'd fight Derek Chisora at the end of my career, and here we are, breaking all records again, setting precedents."

The breakdown of an all-British heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury is down to the former's promoter Eddie Hearn, claims Bob Arum.

A bout between the two - both world champions at varying points in their career - looked to be on the rocks last week after Fury repeatedly issued deadlines to sign a contract for a December 3 date.

Earlier this week, Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn admitted the fight looked dead in the water for now after negotiations collapsed.

And Fury's promoter Arum claims it was his opposite number who is to blame for the turn of events, claiming he "sabotaged" any potential deal.

"He wanted to kill it because even as late as [Monday], if he'd have said let's all get together and sit in a room and get everything finalised, it could have been done in a couple of hours," Arum told Sky Sports.

"He didn't want the fight to happen from the get-go, so he slow-played it.

"I've been in this business almost 60 years, so I can tell when somebody doesn't want something to happen and then slow-plays a negotiation.

"I knew that Eddie would find a way to sabotage the fight. He has nothing left really in his stable and he is clinging to AJ as his only potential attraction."

Fury's consistent public demands for an agreement have seen him criticised for apparently attempting to backtrack out of any fight, but Arum refutes any suggestion he is to blame.

"Tyson Fury is Tyson Fury," Arum added. 

"He hasn't been trained in law school so he wants a fight, if he's imposing deadlines which aren't really deadlines because he's sending a message, get off your asses and get this thing done.

"It was clear that was the case. So, nobody should be blamed for this fight not happening, not Tyson, not AJ, not anybody else other than Eddie Hearn."

Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua's proposed fight with Tyson Fury will not go ahead as things stand, insisting he will not "play a game" with the WBC heavyweight champion.

Fury initially offered Joshua the chance of a December bout last month, with Hearn subsequently revealing positive talks had been held with the Gypsy King's team.

However, Fury then set Joshua's representatives a deadline of September 26 to get the fight signed off, and declared discussions were "officially over" when that was not met.

Last week, Hearn told Sky Sports he was "baffled" by Fury's antics, adding: "we'll see what happens from here".

Hearn now appears convinced the fight will not take place, and has hit out at Fury for repeatedly insulting Joshua on social media.  

"As far as we're concerned, the fight's off. We're happy to continue the discussions," Hearn said in an interview with Matchroom Boxing.

"In our mind, he's not fighting Anthony Joshua. We're more than happy to continue those conversations, but what we've been told is the deadline has passed, and so have the entire country.

"We have sent the final version of the contract back, they've come back with points and we were told that the fight is off by the man himself.

"They gave us terms, ultimately, and a date they thought we wouldn't accept. We did accept that. We were ready to go. 

"If they were to sign the contract on Monday [September 26], they had a fight. We were asked to agree the deal by Monday, then we were asked to agree it by Wednesday. 

"We got the comments back on Wednesday. We were never going to sign the fight [then], and we were told the fight's off.

"It's still there. It's still open for discussion. But we're not going to play a game with a bloke that's just coming out telling AJ it's off, and then that he's a 'dosser', that he's got to sign it, etc.

"Have your fight if you fight someone else, and we'll do our thing and we'll see what happens."

Tyson Fury's co-promoter Frank Warren has accused Anthony Joshua's camp of radio silence, stating they have "bent over backwards" in pursuit of an agreement.

The saga surrounding the 'Battle of Britain' bout on December 3 rumbles on without an apparent conclusion, after Fury issued his rival a deadline of Monday to sign a contract before he walked away.

Joshua failed to do that, leading Fury to close the door on a bout, but he handed an olive branch to his compatriot once again on Thursday, though made it clear a verdict would need to be reached before the end of the day.

On AJ's side, Eddie Hearn has said he was 'baffled' by Fury's behaviour and dubbed the deadlines as 'unrealistic' but Fury's camp have a contrasting view, claiming they are not getting any responses.

"We've done all that's necessary with BT, ESPN and DAZN. They're all happy. We gave them a contract. They've had it for two weeks and it hasn't come back yet," he told TalkSport.

"Ticketing and the venue is ready to go. We've agreed transparency with them. Everything in the pot. Everything they needed, co-promotion, the lot – we've bent over backwards. We've not had anything back.

"I had a bet with Tyson that we'd get it done in the next few days. He said 'no, Joshua doesn't want the fight'. I've lost the bet. Joshua said he wanted the fight, so let's get it done. I don't understand this."

Fury has consistently made it clear he will fight in December regardless of the opponent, having stepped back into contention after announcing his retirement after defeating Dillian Whyte at Wembley in April.

If a fight against Joshua does not materialise, Mahmoud Charr stands as the most likely opponent for Fury after he took to social media on Thursday to verbally accept a proposal to face the German.

"Mahmoud Charr, it seems now that AJ is finally out, he's ducked his way out, coward, and you're the man who wants to fight, so I like that," he said on an Instagram video.

"I like the fact you're very vocal and you're calling for a fight like a man should do. Any man who wants to fight a man should call him out as you've been doing to me. So I accept your challenge Mahmoud Charr, let's get it on."

Eddie Hearn has slammed Tyson Fury for his antics in the ongoing discussions for a bout against Anthony Joshua, saying he has been left "baffled by the situation".

Fury had initially set Joshua a deadline of Monday to sign the contract for a December 3 bout and said discussions were "officially over" after the paperwork was not received.

However, the WBC heavyweight champion then backtracked on Thursday and issued his compatriot another deadline for the 'Battle of Britain' bout, giving him until the end of the day to agree terms.

An imminent end to the saga seems unlikely, however, with Joshua's promoter Hearn questioning why the Gypsy King was setting "unrealistic deadlines".

"I don't want to get involved with back and forths that are going to negatively impact this fight being made, but to be honest, we are quite baffled by the situation," he told Sky Sports.

"Firstly, when we agreed terms for the fight, it took us over a week to receive a draft contract. We have not had that contract for 14 days.

"Over the next week, we've worked tirelessly and had a number of meetings with Queensberry to get the contract in some kind of decent shape. Last Monday, we sent our final draft of the contract to Queensberry, only to see that Tyson Fury had publicly pulled out of the fight and it was no longer on the table.

"Yesterday we then received comments back from Queensberry on our final draft of the agreement, of which is now being reviewed.

"I'm not sure why Tyson Fury keeps setting unrealistic deadlines whilst also offering the fight to a number of other heavyweights for the selected date. If he is serious about the fight being made, I suggest he allows Matchroom and Queensberry to keep working hard to make the fight, of which everyone has been trying hard to do.

"You can't publicly keep pulling out of a fight and then restart negotiations when there has been so many positive conversations had. We'll see what happens from here."

Tyson Fury has backtracked on his decision to rule out a December bout with Anthony Joshua after giving his rival until the end of Thursday to agree terms.

WBC champion Fury opened the door for a 'Battle of Britain' with Joshua last month after it became clear a unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk would not occur this year.

After weeks of talks between the fighters' camps, however, Fury said on Monday any chance of the pair meeting was "officially over" after his self-imposed deadline was not met.

But Fury set Joshua, who has lost three of his past five fights, a new deadline in his latest video message on social media that was directed at the two-time world champion.

"My promoter Frank Warren convinced me to let Queensberry [Warren's company] carry on negotiating with your team this week, despite me knowing you were never going to do this fight," Fury said.

"So the deadline was Monday. I allowed Frank to continue doing meetings with your team and your broadcasters and all that."

Fury said the broadcasters were "all on the same page".

"They are happy with everything, they are all ready to rock and roll," he added.

"You guys ask for a lot of stuff. You want to be co-promoters when you're a voluntary challenger. Guess what, I said give it them, let them be co-promoters.

"You wanted full transparency, even though you're not an equal shareholder in this party. You know what I said? Give them full transparency, I've got nothing to hide.

"I'm not trying to rob anybody, I've not robbed anybody of a penny in my life. Now you've got full transparency, everything is clean and fair. Joshua, the ball is really in your court."

Fury revealed earlier this month that he has offered Joshua a 60-40 purse split in a bid to get the heavyweight title fight made after years of build-up.

Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn said last week an initial contract offer sent by Fury's camp was not acceptable, but the parties were "working positively" to reach an agreement.

That led to Fury making his ultimatum to Joshua to sign the contract by Monday or forget about a fight, which had been set to be held in Cardiff's Principality Stadium.

"Everybody is done," Fury added in his Twitter post. "If you're a man, and if you've got any sort of dignity and pride about you, you'll get this contract signed today. This is it.

"There is no more days, weeks, months, you've had the contract now for over two weeks and you still haven't signed it.

"Show the public that you're really the big coward that I know you are, and don't sign it. I don't care either way if you sign it or you don't, it makes no difference to me at all.

"You're a beaten man and I'm a world champion. I'm chucking you a massive bone, but I know I can punch a face in so I'm willing to give you an opportunity.

"There's nothing more to do, everyone is happy. Get your team onto mine, they will be available all day, like they've been available the last two weeks. Get this contract signed!

"Let the British fans have what they want. There is no running, you have to fight me. You cannot escape. The Fury is coming."

WBC champion Tyson Fury believes fellow Brit Joe Joyce is "the second-best heavyweight in the world" and suggested the two could meet in the ring in the future.

Joyce's stunning 11th-round knockout victory over Joseph Parker at the weekend led to talk of him fighting the likes of Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Parker had not been stopped in his 32 previous bouts, despite defeats to heavy-handed fighters such as Joshua and Dillian Whyte, and Joyce's win certainly impressed Fury.

"I've had a lovely day of watching boxing and watching all the big fights and studying all the heavyweights," Fury said in a video on Twitter.

"And I've got to say that big Joe Joyce is the second-best heavyweight in the world, behind myself.

"I've just looked at these prospects who are mandatory for the world title, Zhang [Zhilei] and [Filip] Hrgovic and everybody else. I've changed my mind and I think big Joe Joyce is number two heavyweight in the world."

Fury initially claimed to be retired after stopping Whyte inside six rounds at Wembley in April, but has since been rumoured to be in talks to fight the likes of Dereck Chisora and Manuel Charr.

The undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk is on hold until 2023, with the IBF, WBA and WBO champion needing time to recover from injuries after beating Joshua in their rematch in Saudi Arabia.

Fury himself has been involved in a public spat with Joshua, but it appears any plans for those two to fight later in 2022 are over after Joshua failed to meet Fury's deadline for signing the contracts.

And Fury has not ruled out facing Joyce in future, adding: "Who knows if he's number one? One day we'll have to find out who's better out of me and him.

"But at the moment I'm ruling the roost because I'm world heavyweight champion and he's not."

Deontay Wilder claims he has unfinished business with Tyson Fury and hopes to face the WBC heavyweight champion for a fourth time in the future.

Wilder is the only fighter to avoid defeat against Fury in the 34-year-old's professional career, doing so in a draw in December 2018.

However, the 'Bronze Bomber' then suffered two defeats to Fury – the most recent an 11th-round stoppage in October 2021 – and he still hopes for a chance to avenge those losses.

"I think that there's definitely a chance of a fourth fight again," Wilder told Sky Sports. "Boxing is a business. Many people call it a sport, but it's not a sport.

"The heavyweight division is very small. I'm still a big fish in the business, especially here in America. 

"As long as we're all in the same division and all still currently fighting, why not? It only can lead to that. With all that being said, it's definitely a possibility."

Wilder, who has not fought since that second defeat to Fury, will meet Robert Helenius in an eliminator next month and may yet face further bouts in his bid to return to title contention.

However, Oleksandr Usyk, who won and then retained the WBO, WBA and IBF belts with two victories over Anthony Joshua, has floated the idea of offering Wilder a championship fight – a proposition the 36-year-old would welcome.

"I heard about the Usyk situation, and he's going to be there. I hold Usyk to be a man of his word," Wilder said.

"If Usyk's saying he wants to give me an opportunity for the titles then that's what I'm holding his word to. I always tell people that I don't look past fighters, but I do look through them, there's nothing wrong with that, being confident in yourself and looking ahead once this chapter is closed.

"I've got to handle business at the end of the day. Without handling business then nothing else is moving forward. I'm taking it one fight at a time. I'm taking it all in, one day at a time. 

"Once I've accomplished and finished what I have to do with Robert, then I'll move on, and I'll be looking forward to the next challenge, whether it's Usyk or whether it's anybody else."

Meanwhile, Fury appeared set to face Joshua in December after reversing his decision to retire, although he has since claimed the fight was off after weeks of back-and-forth discussions.

Despite Joshua losing three of his last five fights, Wilder believes he can rectify issues with his fighting style, adding: "I just think Joshua was very cautious in what he did as far as exchanging punches [against Usyk]. I always said it: as I see it, he has a big stamina problem.

"I think if he can correct that, I think you will see a different Joshua. You won't see one that's so hesitant to throw punches and do things.

"I think he was just a little fearful of running out of gas too quick and too fast, and he held back a little bit."

Tyson Fury says December's proposed bout with Anthony Joshua is "officially over" due to the contract not being signed by Monday's self-imposed deadline.

WBC champion Fury opened the door for a 'Battle of Britain' with Joshua after it became clear a unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk would not occur this year.

However, following drawn-out talks between the fighters' camps, Fury declared last week that Joshua had until 17:00 BST on Monday to put pen to paper on the terms.

That deadline came and went without any official confirmation, and Fury once again took to social media shortly after to declare the heavyweight fight will not be taking place.

"It's official. D-Day has come and gone," he said in a video message on his Instagram account. "It's gone past 5 o'clock Monday, no contract has been signed. It's officially over. 

"Joshua is now out in the cold with the wolfpack. Forget about it. Idiot, coward, s***house, bodybuilder. Always knew you didn't have the minerals to fight the Gypsy King. 

"Regardless of what you say now, I don't really care. Good luck with your career and your life, end of."

Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn said last week an initial contract offer sent by Fury's camp was not acceptable, but the parties were "working positively" to reach an agreement.

That led to Fury making his ultimatum to Joshua to sign the contract by Monday or forget about a fight that has been years in the making.

In response, two-time world champion Joshua – who has lost three of his past five fights – said he fully intended to sign the deal, but it was currently with his legal team.

Should Fury be true to his word, the 34-year-old could look to arrange a title defence against Mahmoud Charr in the same December slot ahead of facing Usyk next year.

Anthony Joshua has made it clear he will sign the contract for a bout against Tyson Fury on December 3.

The 'Battle of Britain' clash seemed to be at risk of a collapse after Fury issued a Monday deadline for an agreement to be signed but AJ's promoter Eddie Hearn ruled out such swift action.

That raised concerns that the fiercely anticipated bout could fall through, with Fury threatening to walk away and fight someone else.

Joshua has now moved to calm such fears in a video posted on social media, expressing his intent to sign the agreement.

"I've been signing contracts for years. It ain't in my hands, it is with the legal team, that's why you hire lawyers. You know the history of boxing, make sure you get your legal terms right," he said.

"That's why you have good management and good lawyers. Of course I'm going to sign the contract, it's just with some lawyers at the minute."

A fight between Fury and Joshua would likely set the heavyweight scene for 2023, with the winner then poised to face off against Oleksandr Usyk in a unification bout.

Joe Joyce's victory against Joseph Parker in Manchester on Sunday has set the Brit as the mandatory challenger for Usyk's WBO title, though he may have to wait for his shot.

Eddie Hearn says there is "no chance" a contract for an all-British heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will be signed by Monday.

WBC champion Fury on Saturday warned Joshua he will "move on to fight someone else" if Joshua does not agree terms that have been offered at the start of next week.

December 3 has been pencilled in as a date for the English duo to do battle in what would be a mouth-watering and long-awaited bout.

Hearn, Joshua's promoter, says Fury must be patient as there is no way a deal will be struck so quickly.

He said on the Seconds Out YouTube channel: "There is no chance this fight will get signed by Monday. There is no need for this fight to get signed by Monday.

"If he doesn't [want to fight Joshua], and I guess he doesn't, then he'll do what he'll do and the fans might even fall for it."

Hearn this week stated the first offer from the Fury camp was not acceptable, but "positive conversations" had taken place between the two parties.

He revealed Fury will be fighting Joshua if he is realistic with his deadline.

"We have a meeting on Monday, with DAZN, with BT, with everybody, but it's going to take time," added Hearn. "If he wants to put a time frame on it of Monday then it’s clear to the whole public he doesn't want the fight.

"It's not going to get signed on Monday so if he's walking away on Monday the fight's off."