why did aj not fight fury

Anthony Joshua did not fight Tyson Fury primarily because negotiations for the fight failed to reach a contract agreement. Fury set a deadline for Joshua to sign the contract, which Joshua did not meet, leading Fury to declare the fight off and label Joshua a "coward" for backing out. Additionally, Fury was obligated to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time due to an arbitration ruling, which further delayed and eventually canceled plans for the Joshua fight. Fury later ruled out the fight with Joshua entirely, stating that he believed Joshua never truly wanted the fight and that there was too much messing around and difficulty dealing with Joshua's camp. Fury also said Joshua lost his chance to fight him as he no longer held any belts Fury needed. This combined with the legal and promotional complications meant the fight never happened and is unlikely to happen in the future.