Tyson Fury has promised to “smash” Anthony Joshua inside three rounds when the British pair eventually clash in their heavyweight unification clash.
The all-British mega-bout is close to being agreed after the WBO stepped in to handle the issue of the mandatory challenger to Joshua’s WBO belt Oleksandr Usyk.
And Fury, who is unbeaten and last fought in February 2020 with a devastating knockout win against Deontay Wilder, revealed that he had just talked tactics with trainer SugarHill Steward on the phone ahead of the potential fight.
“Tyson Fury, the Gypsy King, the heavyweight champion of the world. Yes!” he began, in a video on his Twitter page.
“Just got off the phone from Sugarhill Steward in America – we are going to smash AJ!
“One round, two rounds, three rounds, done! Can’t wait!”
A two-fight ‘financial agreement’ was reached last year for Joshua and Fury to collide in the ring in 2021.
A potential obstacle was Usyk’s status as a mandatory challenger to Joshua but early negotiations have now taken place for the Ukrainian to fight London-born Joe Joyce instead, with the Brit currently ranked as the No 2 contender by the WBO.
They would be fighting for an “interim” title fight which would allow the winner a No 1 contender’s spot down the road.
Should a fight with Joyce go ahead, it would pave the way for Joshua and Fury to meet in a spectacular two-fight showdown later on this year.
It would also mean that Fury’s WBC belt and Joshua’s IBF, WBA and WBO titles would be on the line all at once, with the winner being crowned as the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis.