The way Anthony Joshua tells it, he’s as disappointed he has not yet fought Tyson Fury, his most obvious and attractive rival, as are the fans. As we know, we were close in August, with the mega-fight announced for Saudi Arabia, but here we are, still waiting for the fight everyone, everywhere, wants to see.
Joshua himself fully agrees the fight HAS to happen, and he has told The Mail that he will “do everything in my power to fight Tyson Fury.”
Joshua, who must first get through his expected tough and testing affair with the very skilled Oleksandr Usyk a week today (more tough and testing from a technical, chess-match type approach rather than from a physically testing one), has “promised” he will do all he can to fight Fury, and fight him in the UK.
“We were meant to have fought by now, and here we are talking about it,” Joshua said. “But it will happen. I know what people are saying about boxing politics, but I promise before the end of my career, I will have done everything in my power to fight Tyson Fury. We saw it with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, but that was a superstar fight. Me and Fury is streets, two warriors, two fighters who have come from the amateur system in the UK, and we have taken the world by storm. We’ll get it on in Britain. Don’t worry about age, boxing politics, don’t worry about the American dollar. This is a British UK fight which can happen at Wembley, Tottenham, The O2, York Hall.”
There is no way a fight of this magnitude takes place anywhere other than in a huge, cavernous stadium. But what AJ is saying, that the fight should take place in the UK, is what fans have been saying all along. But what about the huge money the Saudis will no doubt offer to host the fight next year, providing Joshua and Fury have both won their upcoming fights (no guaranteed thing at all)? AJ says, “don’t worry about the American dollar,” but should fans who crave seeing this fight in the UK be worrying about the Saudi Riyal?
In terms of both fighters absolutely, genuinely wanting this fight, there seems no doubt Joshua and Fury want to get it on and are not looking to duck and dodge the fight. But those ‘boxing politics’ are just not as easy to not worry about. Fury Vs. Joshua in 2022? It simply has to happen. The two fighters and the fans know and fully appreciate and understand this. So what’s the problem? Hopefully, there will be no problems that serve to stop this fight of a generation from happening next year.