LONDON (AP) — Tyson Fury has indicated his long-awaited fight with Anthony Joshua is off and challenged Oleksandr Usyk to a trilogy bout in November instead.
Negotiations for a lucrative all-British fight between former heavyweight champions Fury and Joshua have dragged on without a firm date or venue, and key financial questions left open.
In a video packed with insults and expletives on Instagram late Sunday, Fury laid the blame with Joshua, branding him “weak-minded” and suggesting he lacked the courage to take the fight. “This will only lead me to a fight with Oleksandr Usyk,” Fury said.
The Ukrainian vacated his three heavyweight world titles in June and said he wanted one “last dance” fight before retirement.
“You got the decisions last time, fair play to you. Good luck to you, well, let’s do it again. Let’s run it back in November. The ball is now in your court, Oleksandr,” Fury added. “Do you want to fight me this year, 2026, or are you calling quits? Let me know because I am now looking for a new opponent.”
Usyk (25-0) became the first undisputed world heavyweight champion in 24 years when he beat Fury by decision in May 2024, and he outpointed the British fighter again in their rematch seven months later.
Fury (36-2-1) and Joshua (30-4) both won tuneup fights in July that were expected to be a prelude to their all-British bout, though Joshua came near to a shock loss when he was knocked down twice by Kristian Prenga.
Usyk, too, looked short of his best in his stoppage win over Rico Verhoeven, a Dutch kickboxer fighting as a boxer for just the second time, in May.
See AP’s full sports coverage here
FILE - Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk celebrates winning the undisputed world heavyweight boxing title fight against Britain's Daniel Dubois in London, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE - Anthony Joshua reacts after defeating Jake Paul in their heavyweight boxing match, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
FILE - Tyson Fury of England celebrates after winning against Mariusz Wach of Poland during a heavyweight charity bout at Max Muay Thai Stadium in Pattaya, Thailand, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, file)
BERLIN (AP) — Emma Meesseman led Belgium to the quarterfinals of women’s FIBA World Cup and Puerto Rico finished strongly to eliminate Turkey in their final group games on Monday.
Meesseman had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help Belgium top Australia 80-68 for first place in Group C.
The European champions are now off until Thursday. Australia faces a qualifying playoff on Wednesday against the loser of the Italy-China matchup that takes place later Monday.
Belgium had a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, before using a 11-2 run to start the period and gain a double-digit advantage. The Opals couldn’t recover.
The pro-Belgian crowd cheered on their team, waving flags in support.
Arella Guirantes led Puerto Rico with 21 points for a 75-71 win over Turkey.
Puerto Rico was trailing by seven points going into the final quarter, but Imani McGee-Stafford scored and Pamela Rosado followed with two 3-pointers to take a 59-58 lead.
Turkey power forward Elif Bayram went off early in the final quarter with what looked a left leg injury.
Turkey fans outnumbered their counterparts at Berlin’s Max-Schmeling-Halle and they tried to put off Guirantes but couldn’t stop her from securing the win with two free throws.
Puerto Rico next plays the winner between Italy-China on Wednesday.
Belgium's Julie Allemand became the all-time women’s FIBA World Cup assist leader in the game. She got the record-breaking assist when Meesseman hit two free throws with 1:58 left in the first half against Australia.
FIBA gives an assist out when a player is fouled and makes the free throws. Allemand passed Laia Palau of Spain, who had 108 assists in her career.
Allemand started the tournament in eighth place all-time with 87, but had 17 assists in her first two games to get within striking distance of the record.
She finished the game with seven assists to give her 111 in World Cup play.
The four group winners progress directly to Thursday’s quarterfinals, while the teams that finish second and third face playoffs Tuesday or Wednesday to determine which join the group winners already through to the final eight. The bottom teams are eliminated.
Host Germany (1-1) faces Mali (1-1), and Spain (1-1) plays Japan (1-1) later with all scenarios open in Group A. Any one of the four teams can win the group and progress to the quarterfinals or finish bottom and be eliminated.
France (2-0), already through to the quarterfinals, plays already eliminated Nigeria (0-2) later, with Hungary and South Korea (both 1-1) contesting second place in Group B.
Italy (1-1), after coming close to upsetting the United States Sunday night, faces China (1-1) to decide second place in Group D. The U.S. (2-0) has already advanced to the quarterfinals before its final group game against the Czech Republic, which was eliminated after two losses.
See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
Puerto Rico's Zaida Gonzalez fouls Belgium's Emma Meesseman fouls [b during the Women's Basketball World Cup match between Puerto Rico and Belgium in Berlin, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Puerto Rico's Denise Solís guards Belgium's Emma Meesseman during the Women's Basketball World Cup match between Puerto Rico and Belgium in Berlin, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
