Tyson Fury has said a fight with long-time British rival Anthony Joshua is inevitable, though when it comes is up in the air.
A contest between these two former world champions had always been a possibility but has never come to fruition due to a number of factors.
The first issue was Joshua losing to Andy Ruiz Jr back in 2019, while at the same time, Fury was engaged in a trilogy with Deontay Wilder which kept him tied up.
Joshua regained his world champion status but then lost in back-to-back fights with Oleksandr Usyk. He rebuilt well with wins over the likes of Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou and was angling for a shot at the winner of the undisputed clash between Fury and Usyk. ‘The Gypsy King’ was defeated by the Ukrainian, coming out on the wrong side of a decision after 12 hard rounds.
In September, Joshua failed in his attempt to become a three-time champion, this time by KO to Daniel Dubois. Fury is in camp and training to avenge his loss when he rematches Usyk in December.
Speaking to the Pound 4 Pound podcast, ‘The Gypsy King’ stated he would fight Joshua but not until he has beaten Usyk twice and ‘AJ’ has avenged his loss to Dubois.
“You know, at this level, when I beat Usyk next time, God willing I do what I believe I can do, my own promoter said to me today, you win this then you’re back on top and there’s no talking point.
I said no Frank, when I win this fight with Usyk there has to be a third fight. If you win one and I win one, there has to be a third fight to see who is the best out of us two, one each, one decider, that’s what I’ll look for after that.
Then when that’s done, February, March time, I’ll look for the winner of ‘AJ’ and Dubois.”
While Joshua’s team initially said he would go straight into a rematch with Dubois it has since been taken off the table due to niggling injuries. Dubois will make a voluntary defence in February.
‘AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn has said his man could then face the champion in the summer, but Frank Warren, who handles the career of Dubois, believes that won’t be possible due to the 27-year-old then having a mandatory challenger.
As such, the Fury-Joshua still looks a way off, though Hearn says Fury, should he lose again to Usyk, may want to enter straight into it.
