Tyson Fury has claimed he would “love” to face Anthony Joshua but is unsure his rival is keen to accept the fight.
The ‘Gypsy King’ is currently without an opponent after undisputed fight talks with Oleksandr Usyk collapsed, as the pair disagreed following public demands from the WBC champion.
Now the Brit is eyeing a return to the ring but is struggling to tie down a concrete option after failed attempts at luring Andy Ruiz Jr and Zhilei Zhang into a UK stadium fight.
Fury has always been linked with fellow British star Joshua with the pair once again looking set to meet late last year, but ‘AJ’ missed the champion’s self-imposed contract deadline. However the 34-year-old has still insisted the fight could take place in a similar way to his failed fight with Usyk.
“I’d love it to happen, love it to happen I’d love to fight Oleksandr Usyk, I’d love to fight AJ, but I just don’t think they want to fight me,” he said in a press conference in Tenerife when assessing the chances of himself fighting Joshua before the end of his career. “I’d fight anybody, maybe we can have a handicap match where they both fight me at the same time.”
The pair have been included in talks over a four-man heavyweight in tournament in Saudi Arabia later this year, which could see the pair finally thrust into a British mega-fight. Fury’s rival Joshua is currently in talks to secure a fight with Deontay Wilder, while the winner could take on the winner of any undisputed fight between the WBC champion and Usyk which is understood could be re-negotiated.
Joshua has lost on back-to-back occasions but revived his winning form when he cruised to a points decision over Jermaine Franklin earlier this year. A win over Wilder will see him right back in the world title mix, and he would likely earn a WBC mandatory shot against Fury even if the undisputed fight fails to take place.
“That is the pot of gold. That is the WBC heavyweight champion of the world. That’s what it is all about, so definitely Tyson Fury. Yeah (another warm-up fight) would be ideal, after that long lay-off, to get active. But sometimes an opportunity presents itself and you have to grab it with both hands.
“In that sense, if the opportunity presented itself and the coach and team agree it is a good opportunity, I would take it and grab it with both hands, 100 per cent. The boxing world needs it.”
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