Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury both aware they must wait for the biggest fights despite protesting otherwise
The two heavyweight kings have spent an awful lot of time talking about fights they know are unlikely to happen anytime soon
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Two undefeated heavyweight world champions, two central London speaking arrangements that could not have been more different.
First Tyson Fury. At the Four Seasons Hotel the boxing press and amateur videographers assembled, eager for the soundbite and slice of drama the controversial but brilliant gypsy guarantees them.
“I’m now back to claim what is rightfully mine,” he growled into a crackling microphone, having squeezed himself into a bold burgundy suit which made him look like Al Murray, The Pub Landlord on a particularly menacing evening. “This is going to be one of the longest comebacks in history of a heavyweight champion.”
A few hours later and it was Anthony Joshua’s turn to hold court, across town at The O2 in Greenwich. Unlike Fury however, he was not grilled by half-interested journalists noisily tapping on their laptops, but by a well-dressed crowd tweeting their decidedly less searching questions with the hashtag ‘AskAJ’. They had paid between £60-£80 for the privilege and for the occasion Joshua wore a noticeably more expensive suit than his rival.
And yet for all of their many differences, from the dress code to the clientele, the two events shared something of a common theme. Both Fury and Joshua spent an awful lot of their time on stage talking about men they know they are unlikely to be fighting next, despite the clamour of fight fans and their protestations otherwise. We already know that Fury will be forced to wait before being handed the chance to win back his belts from Joshua, who in turn is looking equally unlikely to fight Deontay Wilder next time out.
Fury is still waiting on an opponent for his comeback on 9 June at the Manchester Arena — his new promoter Frank Warren is confident he can shift a ludicrous amount of tickets regardless. But it is Joshua he is obsessed with fighting. Fury — despite his frequent protestations otherwise — is a keen student of boxing with an acute sense of his own role within the sport’s rich history; as such he views Joshua as a man who has unfairly usurped both his titles and his prestige.
“Joshua is a big old dosser and a belt‑carrier for me – by the time I am ready it’s going to be a no-contest,” he said with a curl of the lip at his comeback conference, not quite seriously but most certainly not joking. “We all saw the Parker affair, anyone who can move a little bit he cannot land on. I would outbox him and then knock him out. He is not the hardest man to land a punch on and I do not believe he holds the best shots either.”
Fury may have a plethora of opponents lining up to take him on in June — for Joshua there are only a few. The logical next step would of course be an unprecedented unification showdown with WBC champion Wilder, the brash American with a fairly formidable record of 40-0, 39 knockouts. And yet, if Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn are to be believed, Wilder is a megalomaniac penny-pincher running scared.
“It’s a shame for the sport of boxing because with Wilder this fight has just become all about the money,” Joshua earnestly told Adam Smith when asked about his next move. “We are talking about a lot of dough to fight — a serious amount — and he is still asking for more. I think he’s going to retire soon anyway, he’s had 40 fights, he’s 32 years old with a bad hand and a bad bicep. He wants an escape route.”
Hearn was eventually wheeled out to hammer home the point. “Every day people tell me to make the Wilder fight or accuse me of being a conman but we cannot go any faster than we are currently going. We made an offer to him this week that was five times his biggest ever purse, with an offer to make even more in the second, but he hasn’t accepted it.”
With each passing day it becomes more unlikely that Joshua will fight Wilder next — although how much of that is the much maligned American’s fault is up for debate. Joshua has a growing line of mandatory challengers to consider, while there are still some doubts within his camp over how he would fare against Wilder’s unusual and harmful style, doubts shared by his friend and former opponent, Wladimir Klitschko. “I’m not saying he wouldn’t win it but Wilder has something,” he conceded to The Sunday Times over the weekend.
And so the sensible if not especially subtle plan is now to firmly establish in the minds of the public that it is Wilder and not Joshua who is to blame for the lack of announcement, while quietly exploring other options. Prior to the event Joshua even admitted as much. “[Jarrell] Miller or [Alexander] Povetkin,” he replied when asked backstage who he was most likely to fight next.
“If I was to list which (negotiations) would be easiest I'd put them at the start. When these guys haven't got much to lose they're more serious, they know they've got everything to gain.”
Beyond either Miller or Povetkin lies Wilder. Beyond Wilder lies Fury. Each fight would make more money than the last. And so boxing’s most exciting division gains even more intrigue, as Fury begins to rebuild his brilliant but troubled career and Joshua continues his attempts to become the first man to hold all four major heavyweight world titles at the same time. Eventually the two will meet in the ring, although how much will be at stake when they do remains to be seen. Until then the talk will continue.
The formidable four
The men in the frame to fight Anthony Joshua next
Deontay Wilder:
The controversial American, unbeaten in a 40-fight career, is the opponent most boxing fans want to see next for Joshua. Promoter Eddie Hearn has not ruled out the prospect of it happening this year, although he has admitted to a degree of frustration regarding the approach of Wilder's management. If it does take place, then a win for Joshua would see him take Wilder's WBC belt and make him undisputed heavyweight king.
Jarrell Miller:
Unbeaten American Miller has made it clear he wants to face Joshua, and there are few who could doubt that he deserves a world title chance. Hearn is understood to be keen on a Joshua versus Miller encounter, and the Brooklyn-born heavyweight could well be Joshua's next opponent, especially if the Briton takes a fight this summer.
Alexander Povetkin:
Povetkin, a 38-year-old Russian, showed his considerable punching power by inflicting a fifth-round knockout on Liverpool's David Price in an undercard fight on Saturday's bill at the Principality Stadium. He is the mandatory WBO challenger and would undoubtedly be viewed as a dangerous opponent, but any fight would potentially lack the pulling power of a Wilder showdown.
Tyson Fury:
Joshua has made public his desire to fight former world champion and fellow Briton Fury, and while the contest could easily happen, it is likely to be some way down the line given that Fury has not fought since 2015 and is still working his way back to fitness. It would, though, be a contest that captures the imagination.
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