Tyson Fury has been warned that he must “use his brain” and avoid attempting to “destroy” Anthony Joshua in a potential clash between the British heavyweights.
Joshua’s management announced this week that they had agreed to “all terms” on an encounter between the pair in December.
Fury, the WBC heavyweight champion, had been expected to next take on Oleksandr Usyk after the Ukrainian’s second victory over Joshua last month, but Usyk has indicated he does not expect to compete again in 2022. That has opened the door for a long-rumoured encounter between Fury and former unified heavyweight champion Joshua.
Former two-weight world champion Billy Joe Saunders believes that Fury, as yet undefeated in his professional career, is the favourite to win the encounter, but warned the 34-year-old that he must not underestimate Joshua.
“On paper you’re gonna go with Fury, however you can’t write these heavyweights off,” Saunders told Talksport.
“That’s the reason why in this fight they’re gonna make hundreds of millions [of pounds] and everybody’s gonna watch it, because they wanna see the result.
“Obviously if Tyson just gets in there and wants to destroy him, then that’s the wrong move. He’s gotta go round, use his boxing, use his brain.”
Joshua has lost three of his last five fights after beginning his career with 22 consecutive victories. His second defeat by Usyk came via split decision after he lost his title belts via unanimous decision in the pair’s first meeting last September.
Saunders believes that the second defeat was far from the “end of the world” for Joshua, but feels that Fury would be too strong for the London 2012 gold medallist.
“Everybody’s been waiting a long time for this fight and sometimes you only get one shot at these sort of fights.
“AJ’s coming off the back of a loss to Usyk. Is is the end of the world? Not really, no. I think AJ’s done good things for the sport. I just feel that Tyson’s got too much in the tank for him, he’s got too much elite experience.
“When you get in there with the likes of Deontay Wilder and deal with them the way that he dealt with him, that’s world championship level at its best.
“I think AJ’s up against it, but do I blame them both now for making the fight? Absolutely not.”
