Anthony Joshua fight in doubt after Tyson Fury claims Deontay Wilder wants '$20m to move over'


John McAuley
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Tyson Fury seems to expect to face Deontay Wilder next instead of Anthony Joshua, claiming his former foe requested $20 million to step aside for this summer’s world heavyweight title unification bout.

Fury and Joshua had this week agreed finally on a money-spinning clash in Saudi Arabia on August 14, which would crown the undisputed heavyweight champion. The Brit boxers had earlier this year signed a two-fight deal.

However, on Monday a US arbitrator ruled in mediation that Wilder has the legal right to fight WBC champion Fury for a third time following their rematch in February last year, with a deadline set of September 15.

On Wednesday, Fury posted a message on Instagram over a video of Wilder doing some pad work with trainer Malik Scott, with the tag: “What a joke [Wilder] has become.”

Fury said the American had asked for “$20m to move over" before adding: "Looks like I will have to crack his skull again."

Scott also posted on Instagram, saying Wilder "declined and had no interest in step-aside money. He wants blood and not step-aside money. Retribution is upon us."

Fury, undefeated in 31 professional bouts, became a two-time world champion when he stopped Wilder in the seventh round of their hugely one-sided rematch in Las Vegas 15 months ago. The first fight, in December 2018, had ended in a contentious draw.

The pair was slated to meet last year for a third time, but the coronavirus pandemic and an injury to Wilder appeared to clear the road to the much-hyped encounter with Joshua. Joshua holds the WBA, WBO, and IBF belts.

Fury's American promoter, Bob Arum, has seemingly given conflicting statements to various media outlets, with ESPN reporting the Top Rank chief on Tuesday as saying he would abide by the arbitrator’s ruling.

"We're not paying Wilder to step aside," Arum said. "It's better to get rid of him and go about our business. We can make the Fury-Joshua fight for November or December."

Arum said Top Rank has already reserved Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for a Fury-Wilder fight on July 24.

Meanwhile, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, the driving force behind the unification bout in Saudi Arabia, said he is now assessing possible alternatives for his client. Chief among those, a defence against Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk, the mandatory challenger for the WBO crown.

Speaking on an in-house video on Tuesday, the Matchroom Boxing head said: "It would be in an ideal world, if the right deal could be done, to maintain those belts and to keep the Fury fight alive for probably December, but for the undisputed [title] as well.

"We want to be in a position by the end of this week to know are we fighting Tyson Fury or are we moving forward with another option.”

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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time

Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.

Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.

The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.

The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.

Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.

The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.

• Bloomberg

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Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

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A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

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if you go
Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

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