Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua a “coward” as the pair face a tense wait to see whether their long-awaited all-British heavyweight bout can be agreed.

The long-time rivals had been expected to finally settle their differences and face off in November, but the likelihood of that happening is diminishing as an agreement over the venue has yet to be reached.

Two-time unified world champion Joshua and his Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn have signed a contract for the fight to take place in the United Kingdom, while the fight’s organisers are understood to favour staging it in the United States.

Hearn has previously said the contracts would have to be renegotiated if the fight were to take place outside the United Kingdom.

On Wednesday, Fury, who defeated journeyman Mariusz Wach last month to keep the potential blockbuster clash with Joshua on track, said negotiations over the fight were becoming “quite tiring”.

“I’ve been down to fight at every location that’s been mentioned – England, Ireland, Vegas, New York, back to England, back to Ireland, back to New York,” said the 38-year-old.

“Listen, I’ve said yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, every single time. Zero stipulations.

“The facts are I feel like you’re being a coward. I feel like you don’t want the fight and you’re just conning everybody. I feel like you’ve been doing that for years.

“You’ve had many opportunities to fight me, but deep down you’ve never really wanted it, so let’s see if you’re going to man up for a final time.”

Everton have agreed a £40m deal for Monaco forward Folarin Balogun.

The Toffees want to strengthen their forward line before Tuesday’s transfer deadline, with Balogun, 25, and Tottenham’s Richarlison among their targets.

Brazil forward Richarlison, 29, left Everton to join Spurs in 2022.

Everton have pressed ahead with their interest in United States striker Balogun, who left boyhood club Arsenal to join French side Monaco in 2023.

Balogun has scored 31 goals in 91 matches across all competitions for the Ligue 1 team, while he has 12 goals from 31 caps for the USA.

Tottenham had agreed with Everton on Friday evening for Senegal winger Iliman Ndiaye, 26, to join the London club, with Richarlison moving the other way in a separate transfer.

However, sources are indicating Richarlison failed to agree personal terms with former club Everton, who are understood to have made a £35m offer for him.

Manchester City have subsequently agreed a deal worth up to £65m for Ndiaye.

World Cup controversy….
Balogun was at the centre of a major controversy during this summer’s World Cup, after he was dismissed for serious foul play against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last 32 match and should have received an automatic suspension.

However, Fifa’s disciplinary committee suspended his ban for a year – a decision that prompted widespread condemnation, particularly when it emerged US President Donald Trump and White House officials had lobbied football’s world governing body about the American’s sanction., external

Balogun, who scored three goals at the World Cup, was able to start the USA’s last-16 defeat by Belgium – a decision European football’s governing body Uefa called “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.

Super Eagles coach Éric Chelle could be without a key defender and striker when Nigeria begins its 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign later in the month report has suggested.

​The Super Eagles finished third at the 2025 AFCON, but they will be looking to do even better when the next edition takes place in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda next year. However, they have to qualify for the competition first, and that process kicks off this September.

​The three-time African champions have been drawn alongside Madagascar, Tanzania, and Guinea-Bissau in Group C.

​With the qualifying series set to kick off , coach Chelle will likely have started compiling his squad list for the first two games against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau. However, he might have to exclude Zaidu Sanusi and Sadiq Umar

​This comes after the 29-year-old Sanusi suffered an injury in Porto’s Portuguese league match against Académico de Viseu on Saturday evening, ditto for Umar who sustained injury in a Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna match

​Sanusi started the game as usual for the reigning Portuguese champions, but he had to be helped off the pitch in the 18th minute following a serious injury. At the time he was substituted, Porto were leading 1-0, with the match eventually ending 3-0 in their favour.

​As of now, the nature of the injuries have not been confirmed, but they could be forced to spend a few weeks on the sidelines.

​The Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers are just over three weeks away, and the possibility of them returning before then and being match-ready is slim.