Tyson Fury Vs Oleksandr Usyk will unfortunately not go ahead after all. The news has caused a frenzy in the boxing world. As expected, fans are quite disappointed, and on the other hand, many have gone berserk pointing fingers at Tyson Fury. Usyk’s former opponent and Fury’s anticipated opponent Anthony Joshua has now provided his opinion on this issue.
Anthony Joshua spoke about the ‘politics’ of a fight negotiation
Joshua fell prey to Oleksandr Usyk and lost his heavyweight title back in September 2021. He tried to regain his belt, eventually being beaten for a second consecutive time, in August 2022. Despite being winless since December 2020 after his win against Kubrat Pulev, Joshua spoke in favor of Usyk. He emphasized the politics of arranging a fight as well.
A fight negotiation consists of nitty-gritty details that fans do not often get a glimpse of. Joshua implied that a lot of the boxers pull dirty tricks out of their box during those negotiations. For that reason, he refrains from publicizing the ongoing negotiations. In fact, he feels flattered by the fact that he fought Usyk on two consecutive terms.
Not having a fight against Tyson Fury does not bother Anthony Joshua anymore
After being asked about Fury, Joshua came out of his shell and spilled the beans. The former heavyweight champion recollected that he was supposed to fight Fury on two separate occasions. He recalled that Fury pulled out of the first negotiation, citing legal reasons. Fury presented his arbitration case, and eventually opted to fight Deontay Wilder.
Joshua was especially agitated by that as it was all done online rather than sitting at the table and holding real conversations. Later that December, Fury turned Joshua down yet again.
Will we finally get to see Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua? 👀🥊 pic.twitter.com/gz5GGQri2f
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) March 23, 2023
Which is why Joshua is not optimistic about fighting Fury ever. His promoter Eddie Hearn has tried to push this fight over the years. And now, with the Fury Vs Usyk fight being canceled, the question looms large yet again. However, Joshua feels that there is hardly any chance of them clashing before they hang up their gloves professionally.
Calling Fury a “geezer”, Joshua said that he had better fighters out there to fight with. He would not lose a good night’s sleep over the fact that he could not fight Fury in his career. Mentioning that he would not sit around, Joshua stated, “If he is on it, I am on it, if he is not, he is not. Whatever!”
Joshua is set to return to the ring, looking to end his almost three years long win drought, against Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena, on April 1. He is stipulated to face Dillian Whyte, Deontay Wilder, or Tyson Fury if he edges over Franklin.
Do you think ‘AJ’ will fight Tyson Fury in the near future?
