Anthony Joshua ‘doesn't give a sh*t’ about Tyson Fury deadline, promises to ‘kick his a**’ as potential super-fight draws nearer

Anthony Joshua says that he has had enough of Tyson Fury's social media grandstanding surrounding their potential fight this summer, as the biggest heavyweight showdown in a generation looks to have moved a step closer.

Fury, holder of the WBC iteration of boxing's heavyweight crown, has raised the temperature in the talks to secure to blockbuster fight, taking to social media on numerous occasions in recent days to pile the pressure of Joshua and his representatives to secure the deal which had initially been agreed by all sides in a bout agreement one month ago yesterday.

However, the deal has hit some bumps in the road - principally surrounding the location of the fight - as organizers continue to invite bids from various markets to host the blockbluster showdown, reportedly receiving interest from the United States, Saudi Arabia, China, Qatar, Singapore and the United Kingdom. 

And amid Fury's haranguing online, Joshua has slammed his potential opponent for having the wrong "mindset" in arranging the heavyweight title unification fight.

"I don’t think that’s the right mindset to have. I would wait until the end of the year if I had to," said Joshua to Pep Talk TV.

"It’s the fight we both want, it’s the fight the world wants, the promoters and the TV networks, so putting a time limit isn’t right. If people are clearly working on something and they need a little extra time, you want the job done right then you sit tight for a little bit.

"As long as things are getting done I will wait til next Tuesday or the Tuesday after. I know I want it and so does he, maybe he just got his words mixed up.

"With every week that passes I am a week better, a week stronger and a week wiser and a week closer to the day when I kick Tyson Fury’s ass.

"I don’t know what Fury is doing and I don’t give a sh*t either, all I know is what I am doing and I am coming."

Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, meanwhile, says that there has been a breakthrough with regard to the host city of the heavyweight superfight and he is inching closer to releasing concrete information as to where and when the two will trade leather in the first of their two scheduled showdowns.

"Both sides have approved the site offer that they want to go with, and now we're just finalizing the site deal and we're in a great place," Hearn explained to Behind the Gloves.

"I saw Tyson yesterday. I just messaged him and said, 'I'm in Vegas, I'm in your hotel if you fancy a cuppa'. We just had five or 10 minutes together and it was good, because I don't represent Tyson Fury, so I don't know what is in his mind. What he basically cemented in my mind was, this is the only fight he wants, and I know that's the same with AJ.

"It just good to say, right we've got the offer, we all approve. We're moving forward now. We're good."

Hearn, though, like Fury, is keen to move past the negotiation stage as soon as possible and allow both fighters to begin their preparations with an end date in mind - but cautioned that deal must be agreed soon, and that he doesn't want the fight to be delayed longer than it needs to be.

"There is no option for this fight to go at the back end of the year, and I've made that clear," he said. "The hardest thing about securing the site is in this world we live in today, most people would like to kick it to November, December. That's not available. It was never available.

"What was available was a summer fight for the undisputed world heavyweight championship. That is what you're going to get. Both guys want two fights this year. One will be in the summer and one will be in December."

The winner of the proposed summer fight will become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since in more than two decades, after another British fighter - Lennox Lewis - last achieved the same feat between 1999 and 2000.