Frank Warren has slammed Anthony Joshua for lying about holding talks with Deontay Wilder over a unification fight after his rematch with Tyson Fury.
The British heavyweight said he was hoping to ‘throw a curveball’ in the mix after Wilder and Fury’s rematch, which would see the winner of that bout pull out of a third fight and instead agree to a long-awaited unification bout.
Team Wilder responded angrily to Joshua’s comments, insisting there have been no such meetings and Fury’s co-promoter Warren has now weighed in.
‘I spoke to Shelly Finkel and he denied it,’ Warren told ESPN. ‘There’s a rematch clause in the contract and the loser has the right to invoke that not long after the fight.
‘That will determine what happens, not what [promoter Eddie] Hearn or Joshua says. ‘It seems every time they mention these discussions they never think about the possibility of Tyson winning the fight with Wilder.’
Fury and Wilder are due to go to war again on 22 February in Las Vegas and speaking about the possibility of a unification fight, Joshua told Sky Sports: ‘We’ve had meetings. That same meeting with Usyk’s manager, afterwards we had another meeting to potentially put an offer in to solidify [a fight with Wilder] before they have even had their fight, and before I have my next fight.