Tony Bellew Has No Doubt Who He Now Rates Higher Between Anthony Joshua And Tyson Fury

Tony Bellew has been speaking about the current state of the heavyweight division with regards to Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

Right now, Fury is retired and has been since early in January when he shocked the world and revealed he was hanging up his gloves.

The announcement came just a few weeks after his second consecutive loss to pound-for-pound ruler Oleksandr Uysk, with the first coming back in May during the historic undisputed contest.

Fans had hoped and expected that ‘The Gypsy King’ would have turned to Joshua for one final fight that would have been legacy-defining for both men.

Right now Joshua is rebuilding his way back to the top of the division having failed in his attempt to become a three-time world champion. That fight was back in September against the in-form IBF ruler Daniel Dubois, who knocked him out inside five rounds.

Speaking to Fightlens after recent events, former cruiserweight champion Bellew has placed Fury higher up his rankings than Joshua.

“Tyson Fury will be back 100%, if he wants to, that is. And I think he’s the second-best heavyweight in the world.”

Although he believes Fury is the better fighter, Bellew is still picking AJ to stop him if the two do ever meet in the ring.

“Possibly, but I think the clamour has died down a bit. I’ve always said, it and I’ll stick by it, I think ‘AJ’ will be forced to let his hands go and I think he’ll knock out Tyson Fury. Do I think he’s the better fighter? No but not always the better fighter wins.”

If Fury doesn’t return to the sport, Joshua could well pursue a rematch with Dubois or take on well-rated contenders like Martin Bakole of Zhilei Zhang.