Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are finally ready to fight—at least on social media.

A war of words has erupted in lieu of an undisputed championship between the British giants as Joshua has understandably reached his limit in watching a dream fight with Fury potentially dissolve. The bout was reportedly on the verge of being announced this week, with promoter Eddie Hearn having secured a location in Saudi Arabia complete with a massive nine-figure site deal for a targeted August 14th showdown.

Those plans were interrupted when an arbitration judge ruled that Fury was still on the hook for a third fight with Deontay Wilder, per a clause included in the contract for their rematch last February 22. Joshua and Hearn have taken the stance that they were assured by Team Fury of the matter being resolved to the point of not getting in the way of their long-desired undisputed championship, which clearly has proven not to be the case.

“Tyson Fury, the world now sees you for the fraud you are,” Joshua stated Wednesday through his verified Twitter account. “You’ve let boxing down! You lied to the fans and led them on. Used my name for clout not a fight.

“Bring me any championship fighter who can handle their business correctly.”

That fighter would presumably be Oleksandr Usyk, who Joshua (24-1, 22KOs) is expected to be ordered by the WBO to next defend his unified titles. Usyk has served as the mandatory challenger since 2019, reluctantly standing down while Watford’s Joshua—the WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO champ—first honored his IBF obligations in a 9th round knockout of Kubrat Pulev last December and then pursued a superfight with Manchester’s Fury (30-0-1, 21KOs).

The WBO did its part to allow such a fight to materialize, even offering to order an interim title fight between Usyk and Joe Joyce with the assurance that the winner would receive a straightaway shot at the world title. Such a deal was always contingent upon Fury and Joshua meeting in the ring by the deadline imposed by the WBO, and with a Fury-Joshua fight always dependent upon resolution in the ongoing arbitration case between Fury and Wilder.  

“Anthony Joshua, [you’re] more full of sh!t than Eddie,” Fury replied to Joshua’s aforementioned claim. “Spouting absolute sh!te! [Y]our full team knew there was an [a]rbitration going on, it was out of my hands!

“[B]ut I tell you what… if I’m a fraud let’s fight this weekend bare knuckles till 1 man quits? [L]et’s put up 20 mill each!”

The suggestion of such a clash is, of course, social media banter, not to mention a far cry from the reported guarantee of $75,000,000 each that both fighters stood to make for an August 14th showdown.

The onus is now on Hearn to provide the WBO by week’s end verifiable proof of a Fury-Joshua proceeding in present form. In turn, Hearn has demanded an immediate response from Team Fury on how their side plans to clean up the mess they’ve created.

For now, the suggested course of action for Fury is a third fight with Wilder, to reportedly take place July 24 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The bout—should it actually materialize—will be the first for either since their rematch last February at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, where Fury scored a 7th round knockout to claim the lineal and WBC crowns. The pair also fought to a 12-round draw in Dec. 2018, with both fighters each posting two wins each in between their two fights.

The course of action—not to mention Fury’s recent claim—is a far cry from where things stood as recently as this past weekend. Fury took to his Instagram Live channel to declare to the world that he has signed the contract to finalize terms for a fight with Joshua.

“If there was an arbitration going on, why announce to the world we are fighting,” questioned Joshua. “The fight was signed!

“UNDISPUTED Bare knuckle? You’re a good kid, don’t play with me Luke! I’ll slap your bald head & you’ll do nothing! Waste man.”

Ever the trash talker, Fury felt the need to get in the last word.

“Not going into the details [online],” suggested the lineal champ. “[Y]ou’ll slap me about will you dosser? [P]lease come and try Bum, I’m waiting. 24/7 365. Ready. I’ll smoke [W]ilder first then you will get yours as well.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox