Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua came face to face after Fury’s win over Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday night ahead of a potential fight later this year
Tyson Fury gestures as he speaks to Anthony Joshua
Anthony Joshua was booed as he refused to commit to a fight with Tyson Fury.
Fury cruised to victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday night in a one-sided fight which failed to catch fire. Joshua was ringside at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but declined Fury’s invitation to join him in the ring. Fury said: “Next I want to give you the fight you’ve all been waiting for; I want you AJ, Anthony Joshua
“Let’s give the fight fans what they want, a battle of Britain. I challenge you AJ to fight me, The Gypsy King, next. Say yes or no now.” But Joshua declined to agree to the fight and could now take an interim bout before facing Fury later in the year.
“Tyson… you’re a clout chaser. Tyson I’ve never had no problem getting in the ring with you, I punched you out when we were kids, and after seeing you in the ring tonight I’d punch you up again.” he said.
READ MORE: Tyson Fury wins comeback fight in front of watching Anthony JoshuaREAD MORE: Tyson Fury’s daughter Venezuela attends fight with fiancé ‘weeks before wedding’
“With all due respect tonight is your night and you I’ll sit across the ring from you in due time. You ain’t gonna tell me what to do. I’ve been chasing you for the last 10 years. When you’re ready you come and see me and tell me your terms and conditions. I’m the boss, you work for me. I’m the landlord remember that, you work for me.”
Joshua expanded on his position, adding: ‘There are negotiations that you go through. I have been at this table with him many times. In my heart, I’d fight Fury tomorrow, especially after watching that. There is not a problem fighting him.
“I am not here to get clout. I am here to fight. The contract will be sent over, we will go through the nitty gritty, and you will probably see us in the ring next, more than likely – but I am not here to get in the ring, shouting in someone’s face. If you look at my track record, I have never done that. I came to watch the fight, I saw what I saw, and I know what I need to do.”
Asked if he could have a warm-up fight first, he said: “Good question. There is both options. We’ll see. I was in a serious incident maybe four months ago. I need to really check out what is going on with my return to the ring. But I’m here, keeping my eye on the game. I am not ducking anyone, there is just things in my life I need to tend to.
“I am sorting some things out. My brothers, their parents, the brotherhood of taking care of things. That is the priority right now.”
The two Brits have been on a collision course for a decade but have always been thwarted from meeting in the ring. A deal was reached in 2021 before Fury was instead ordered by a judge to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time and Joshua went on to lose his world titles to Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury was ringside to see Joshua take on Daniel Dubois in 2024 with victory for the Olympic champion set to catapult him into a fight with his rival – but Joshua was knocked out in the fifth round. Fury went on to lose his rematch with Usyk later that year before announcing his retirement.
Fury then revealed he would return to the ring and a deal was agreed which would see both he and Joshua have warm-up fights before meeting his autumn. But Joshua was involved in a tragic car crash in Nigeria just days after knocking out Jake Paul last December, setting back his own return.
