Ricky Hatton is the latest fight figure to express his disappointment at the frustrating delay impacting a potential Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight.
The heavyweight rivals appeared to be on target in securing a date this year but those plans were decimated due to an independent arbiter ruling that meant Fury faced Deontay Wilder instead.
Fury and Wilder were set to fight for the third time on July 24th but that rivalry is now on hold until October 9th due to a Covid-19 outbreak in Fury’s camp.
With Joshua being lined up to defend his world titles against Oleksandr Usyk on September 25th, the earliest a Joshua vs. Fury meeting could take place is the first quarter of 2022. Hatton wonders if the eagerly-anticipated contest will ever be confirmed.
“Fury vs Anthony Joshua, now seems further away than ever. What happens now?” sked Hatton in his Metro column. “It all just pushes the fight further back. As a fight fan, you fear the worst, the biggest fight in British boxing history, is it actually going to happen? It just seems we are doomed.
“When you think about it, Tyson had two comeback fights, he went straight in against Wilder and went straight in for the rematch. He wants to get his career and his legacy done and dusted.
“Whereas for AJ, the younger, fresher of the two, it doesn’t matter as much if this drags out another two or three years. It does for Tyson. The longer this drags out the better this is for AJ.”