Anthony Joshua has been warned by Tyson Fury's American promoter Bob Arum that he could end up being "massacred" if he takes a fight with his long-time rival.
It has appeared this week that a potential British super-fight between Fury and Joshua could be on the cards for the end of the year, with both teams going back-and-forth behind the scenes and in the media. The world heavyweight champion has been piling the public pressure on Joshua to accept his 60-40 offer and make the bout happen.
But Arum, a legendary promoter who has been around the sport for over half a century believes Joshua won't take the fight, and predicted a comfortable Fury win if he does. The Watford native just lost two unified heavyweight title battles with Oleksandr Usyk, and his promoter Eddie Hearn had planned on taking some easier fights before jumping back in at world level.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen," Arum told Boxing Social. "Because, while Fury would want it to happen, I put myself in the shoes of Eddie Hearn and Joshua – and after losing twice to Usyk, the first thing you want to do is to get him back in the ring and get him two fights where it restores his confidence. If he goes back in the ring now with Fury, it’s going to be a massacre."
Fury's team have made an official offer with a generous purse split offer of 60-40 in the champion's favour, which Hearn has publicly accepted. However, there is an issue with dates, as Fury would rather fight as early as possible while Joshua needs more time to prepare.
It appears the stumbling blocks are few and far between, but there is a feeling among the boxing public that the fight, which has been scheduled before, won't happen. Arum holds this same belief, and reckons that it won't make enough sense for Joshua to jump straight back into the ring with a pound-for-pound great.
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"I think that [the purse split] is pretty fair, right?" Arum said. "I mean, Joshua’s not a champion anymore. But again, let’s not jump – I don’t believe that Fury against Joshua will happen this year because everything that I know about boxing, from Joshua’s standpoint, indicates that it won’t happen.”
The original plan was for Fury and Joshua to fight in Saudi Arabia last summer but the Manchester native was forced to fight Deontay Wilder first. In the meantime, Joshua was unable to stave off the WBO's mandatory challenger Usyk, who beat him for his unified WBO, IBF and WBA belts before defending them in a rematch.
However, despite Joshua's three career losses, there is still massive interest among the general public in a fight between he and Fury. It will still be for a world title given Fury holds the WBC belt, and is Joshua's opportunity to return to the big time after two high-profile defeats.
