Anthony Joshua's Concerning Backstage Comment After Tyson Fury Face-Off

Chloe is a trainee writer at GIVEMESPORT and has recently completed the HND Media and Communications course at City of Glasgow College.

Chloe has contributed to a range of websites, mainly covering F1 and music. For the past year, she has been contributing to DIVEBOMB Motorsport Magazine as an F1 writer, covering reports, in-depth analysis, and news. Her goal is to become a full-time sports journalist and aspires to work in the field of motorsport.

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Anthony Joshua's backstage comment just minutes after his first face-off with Tyson Fury is bound to cause a stir.

The two rivals have been teasing a major heavyweight showdown for more than a decade. Finally, after more than a few stumbling blocks along the way, the fight has been announced for the 11th of December at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.

Ahead of the much-anticipated grudge match, Fury and Joshua took to the stage in London on Wednesday evening for a press conference, after which they had their first official face-off.

One man notable for his absence at the event was UFC CEO (and Zuffa Boxing boss), Dana White. Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, have been adamant that White is contractually unable to have any involvement in the fight.

However, White has continually claimed that he will be present, leading to the bout almost being cancelled over the weekend.

For the most part, Fury and Joshua were on good terms during the press conference, with both men doing all they could to hype the fight. Behind the scenes, though, it was a different story.

Just minutes after the event had concluded, 'AJ' spoke to talkSPORT, when he claimed he was still prepared to "pull the plug" on the fight.

Quizzed about White's potential involvement, Joshua insisted that he and Hearn would not be changing their position.

"Whatever he [Hearn] wants to do, I'll do it," Joshua said following his face-off with Fury. "If he wants to pull the plug [cancel the fight over White], I'd be right there tugging that plug with him."

The location of the fight has been another major sticking point, with Joshua and Hearn having led a public campaign to prevent the fight from taking place on US soil at New York's Madison Square Garden. Ultimately, the bout taking place in the UK was a major factor in making sure that the fight was signed.

Joshua has since spoken about the difficulties in securing the event, revealing that bringing the fight to the UK was one of his main priorities throughout negotiations.

"Obviously, the agenda was to make the fight happen by any means, but a sticking point was for it to be in the UK, and the sticking point to be enrolled in VADA testing.

"What else would I have done? Who else would I have fought? Eddie dug his heels in. I've been loyal to him, and he paid off. I am over the moon that this fight is happening in the UK. If people are truly behind me, they will get behind me as they will know the truth about who got this in the UK."

After working so hard to get his preferred location for the fight, Joshua would surely hate to walk away from what will surely be the defining fight of his career. However, it appears he could do just that if White refuses to stand down.

Unfortunately, it appears the biggest fight in British boxing history could still fall apart. Fans will be hoping that doesn't prove to be the case.