By: Sean Crose
Although his hopes of a fight against Anthony Joshua in late 2022 were dashed before either of them signed, WBC and heavyweight champion Tyson Fury have said he wants to go head-to-head. Former world player Anthony Joshua. In fact, Fury pointed out High performance podcast that he needed a battle with his British colleague to make his career feel complete. “I don’t think I can retire today,” he said, “because I need that Joshua fight.” Although Joshua no longer holds the title, a match between the two has been going on for so long that it will disappoint fans if it turns out to be an illusion.
“We’ve been trying to do that fight for years,” Fury said. “It’s the fight that people want to see. It’s the fight I want to see as a boxing fan.” Along with former world champion Deontay Wilder, Fury and Joshua represent a new post-Wladimir Klitshcko era heavyweight franchise. Despite being as large and imposing as Klitshcko, they also have a draw from fans outside of mainland Europe. In other words, unlike Klitschko, this new generation of heavyweights excites people across the globe. Fury went on to beat American Wilder two out of three times. However, he and Joshua have never met in the ring.
“For the last four or five years,” Fury said, “there’s been this three-headed monster: me, Wilder, Joshua.” However, time is ticking and Fury wants to solve the problem of who is the best fighter of the three before it’s too late. Although Oleksandr Usyk took the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight belts from Joshua before successfully defending the public in a rematch last summer, Fury still felt a fight with Joshua was justified. “Joshua and Wilder were killed,” Fury said, “and I am the last man alive. Suddenly, you now have some new arrivals – Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, Usyk ruined the party.
Fury, who is undoubtedly the biggest name in the weight class, admits that people are now interested in seeing how he will go up against these new heavyweights. “Now there’s a new amount of blood that wasn’t there 5 years ago,” he said, “and it’s like, ‘can you beat this guy?'” fellow Joshua and peer. “I think it would be an absolute deadly farce,” he said, “if Joshua and I hadn’t fought in this day and age.”
