Fury calls out Usyk as Joshua fight stalls over venue dispute

Tyson Fury has declared he is on the lookout for a new opponent for a November bout and issued a public challenge to Oleksandr Usyk, even though he remains contractually committed to fighting Anthony Joshua next.

The long-awaited all-British heavyweight clash had been targeted for November, with both fighters having signed individual contracts for the bout. However, an official announcement has been held up by disagreement over the fight's location, with organisers pushing for a US venue while Joshua's side prefers Wembley Stadium in London.

In an expletive-filled video posted to Instagram, Fury accused Joshua of backing away from the fight and turned his attention to Usyk, who now works as part of Joshua's coaching team. Fury urged Usyk to face him again in November, noting he has lost to the Ukrainian twice on points, and demanded to know whether Usyk was willing to fight again this year.

Contract dispute

Saudi promoter Sela is backing the proposed Joshua-Fury bout, with each boxer having signed separate contracts with the company. Joshua's contract requires the fight to take place in the UK, prompting his promoter Eddie Hearn to renegotiate elements of the deal.

After London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan publicly appealed for the bout to be staged at Wembley, Hearn said discussions about holding it in the UK had reopened. Sela and broadcaster Netflix, however, are understood to favour New York's Madison Square Garden as the venue.

BBC Sport understands Sela has been in contact with the London mayor's office in recent weeks regarding bringing the fight to the national stadium, though talks have not advanced since last week. Hearn had hoped for an announcement within days, but the latest developments make that appear unlikely. Should the bout take place at Wembley, it might need to start in the early hours to secure a larger US television audience.

Khan said his office would support such a move, pointing out that a Wembley staging could draw 100,000 spectators in person and millions more watching worldwide.