FURY-AJ: DUA LIPA'S GIG COULD DERAIL THE BIG ONE!

Right then, listen up, because the rumour mill is churning faster than a heavyweight’s gut after a dodgy curry. The fight everyone wants – Fury vs. Joshua, the biggest British dust-up since Benn-Eubank – might just be hitting a snag, and believe it or not, it’s got nothing to do with dodgy promoters or purse splits. We’re talking about pop star Dua Lipa, apparently. The Daily and Sunday Express are reporting that her involvement in the opening ceremony for the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk rematch could throw a proper spanner in the works for the long-awaited showdown with AJ.

Now, I’ve seen some daft reasons for fights falling through, but a pop diva’s performance? That’s a new one. The word on the cobbles is that the Saudi organisers are keen to make the Usyk rematch an even bigger spectacle, and Lipa's star power is part of that plan. But if that fight gets pushed back, or the whole spectacle takes longer to arrange, it shoves the Fury-Joshua mega-bout further down the line. We’ve been waiting for this clash of the titans for years, dreaming of a proper unification. Every time it feels close, something crops up. First it was contracts, then it was other fights, now it’s a blooming concert. It’s enough to make a seasoned boxing man weep into his pint. Let's hope this is just noise, and not another nail in the coffin for the fight we all deserve.