Tyson Fury challenges Anthony Joshua to bare-knuckle fight for $20 million

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua got into it on Twitter. Joshua started it, but Fury hit back with a crazy bare-knuckle boxing challenge.

The long-hoped-for heavyweight boxing bout between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua may not happen, but they’re going to town on one another on Twitter.

Fury and Joshua hold all of the major heavyweight titles. For months, there’s been the discussion of a full unification bout between the two to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion. On May 16, Fury announced on Twitter that the fight was a lock.

Those hopes were thwarted when Daniel Weinstein ruled in Favor of Deontay Wilder in arbitration proceedings over a contracted trilogy fight with Fury. Weinstein ruled that Fury and Wilder had to fight in a rematch by Sept. 15.

Later, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum revealed to ESPN’s Mark Kriegel (h/t SB NATION) that he reserved Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for a possible July 24 Fury vs. Wilder showdown.

If that were to occur, Joshua would be the big loser in all of this. The WBO sent Joshua and his team notice that they have 48 hours to show a fight with Fury could be made, or they would order a title defense against Oleksandr Usyk.

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury traded insults and challenges on Twitter after the latest arbitration ruling cast doubt on their proposed fight

Joshua went on Twitter to vent his frustration and blamed Fury for all of these hassles.

“@Tyson_Fury the world now sees you for the fraud you are,” read Joshua’s tweet. “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.”

Joshua’s accusation that Fury is a “fraud” didn’t sit well with Fury. He fired back at Joshua just 14 minutes later with a tweet of his own.

“@anthonyjoshua your [sic] more full of s**t that Eddie, Spouting absolute sh**e! your full team knew there was an Arbitration going on, it was out of my hands! but i [sic] tell you what if i’m a fraud let’s fight this weekend bare knuckles till 1 man quits? let’s put up 20 mill each!!!”

Fury’s challenge of a bare-knuckle fight for $20 million can’t be taken seriously, but it makes for a fun Twitter barb. Technically, a bare-knuckle fight would go outside of the limits of boxing sanctioning bodies and could be made, but pride would be the only thing on the line, along with $20 million for the winner. Don’t hold your breath on this actually happening, although the world would watch it for sure.

Wilder’s friend and trainer Malik Scott signaled that Wilder wasn’t interested in step-aside money on social media. It’s too early to predict how this saga will play out, but don’t be surprised if there’s more drama before any boxing bouts are set.