Tyson Fury is building towards a super fight with Anthony Joshua later this year, but is set to take another tune-up first.
Fury beat Arslanbek Makmudov in a tidy fashion last time out and got back to winning ways for the first time since 2023.
In between times, he twice fought Oleksandr Usyk in 2024 and lost both fights on the cards, which meant he was left without a world title and decided to retire, only to reverse his decision at the start of this year.
Now, his focus is on the long-awaited showdown with Joshua, who fights Kristian Prenga in July, having fought just once last year when he knocked out Jake Paul in December.
Speaking to Playbook Boxing, promoter Frank Warren was asked about Fury’s plans ahead of the meeting with Joshua.
“He wants to fight, he wants a fight before the ‘AJ’ fight, providing ‘AJ’ comes through, which he should do, so he wants a fight before that or he’ll have been out for another seven months. The intentions are he will have another fight, and I’m hoping we’ll be in a position very soon bit of luck this week, or maybe next week, that we can announce the opponent and the venue.”
He was then asked if there was a shortlist of opponents, including Andy Ruiz.
“It won’t be him. It’ll be a decent name for him. Obviously, it’s like everything, his eye is on the ‘AJ’ fight but it won’t be Andy Ruiz. The reason he doesn’t fight is cause the money he asks for is ridiculous.”
Ruiz is a former unified world champion who shocked the world when he beat Joshua in June 2019, but lost the immediate rematch six months later and has only fought three times since.
Fury has said he hopes to fight in Dublin on August 1 when Warren is staging a light-welterweight IBO title fight between Pierce O’Leary and Mark Chamberlain at the 3Arena.
