Fury is ready for a unification fight with his British rival if his trilogy rematch with Deontay Wilder falls through
Tyson Fury has laid down the gauntlet to heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua to defend his three world titles in a blockbuster fight in December if Fury’s trilogy rematch with Deontay Wilder falls through and the pandemic stops Joshua from facing his mandatory challenger. The contest would be the richest fight in British boxing history, with Joshua and Fury holding all the belts in the heavyweight division.
Joshua won back the WBA, WBO and IBF world titles from Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in December, having lost them in New York in June 2019, while Fury knocked Wilder out in the seventh round in Las Vegas in February to claim the WBC gong.
Although Fury is contracted to fight Wilder again, while Joshua has a mandatory obligation with Kubrat Pulev, delays through the coronavirus pandemic could change the sequence of fights if all sides agree.
“If Wilder doesn’t happen, let’s do Joshua in December. Why not?” said Fury. “It’s a boxing match, let’s get it on. I’m ready to go now. I could fight him tonight, it doesn’t really matter, I’d still kick his a—. Joshua had a chance at glory in America to go and beat Wilder, but he didn’t take it. So I had to come out of retirement, set about Wilder a couple of times, take the number one spot, take all the glory, and now they’re all looking up to me.”
“Joshua must be looking up thinking, ‘Do you know what? That could’ve been me’. But it wasn’t. It’s their own fault. It’s played a massive part in how it’s all panned out now. They’ve got to come through me, so I’m saying, ‘Grow a pair, come see the champ’.”
Joshua is currently scheduled to face Pulev in early December, while the Fury-Wilder trilogy has been pencilled in for December 19 in Las Vegas. Two months ago, Fury and Joshua verbally agreed to two fights next year, and in reality, if they were to fight in December they may have to relinquish at least one of the belts.
Fury’s jibe at Joshua to “grow a pair” came from the BT Sport studios in Stratford where the ‘Gypsy King’ was watching live as Daniel Dubois, the heavyweight division’s rising star, blew away Dutchman Ricardo Snijders in two rounds, knocking him down three times, with body shots crumpling the visiting fighter.
“I wanted to go in there and impress” Dubois, who moved to 15 fights undefeated with 14 knockouts, told BT Sport. “The only way I thought I could do that was by trying to take him out straight away. But I had to relax a bit, hold back a bit, and just box my way into it, and then I got the job done easily.”
“You don’t get paid for overtime in this game. I was on a mission. Get rid of the cobwebs and get back into it. Now I feel I’ve done that. I need a step-up.”
Indeed, Dubois’ next contest is a step up, against former Olympic silver medallist Joe Joyce, expected to be on October 24, with crowds permitting. Frank Warren confirmed that the fight was still on. The winner will move into the top 10 challengers in the heavyweight standings. Joyce was not surprised by Dubois’ devastating victory.
“I thought he’d get the stoppage in round one. It was expected, an easy day’s work” he said. “I would have done the same, maybe even quicker. Dubois is a devastating puncher. It was interesting to watch and I was ready to go in there with him. The adrenaline was running. He shows those body shots that landed nicely in his mid-section. I’d have to watch out for those shots. He’s got a great jab.”
“I remember sparring him on the Team GB set up and he’s got a great jab. That’s the first thing that he will try and hit me with, and knowing me, he probably will hit me. There’s things for me to think of, and I’m excited to get in there with Dubois. It’s a big fight for both of us.”