Boxing legend Roy Jones Jr has backed Anthony Joshua’s decision to ignore a potential fight with Tyson Fury.
It recently emerged that the ‘Gypsy King’s’ team had made attempts to revive talks of a showdown between the two British heavyweights for Fury’s WBC belt. The pair had previously looked to be coming close to an agreement before those negotiations fell through.
However, ‘AJ’ has been planning for an opponent in August, with promoter Eddie Hearn revealing that an offer had been made to Dillian Whyte, before ending the year against Deontay Wilder. As a result, Joshua will not be fighting for a world title in his next fight, but Roy Jones Jr believes that is a smart choice, given the manner of his win over Jermaine Franklin last time out.
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“Why would anyone come off one of the worst performances they’ve had in a long time, and go and fight Tyson Fury? How much sense does that make?” Jones Jr told Boxing News. “Which one of us believes that, based off his last performance, that he would beat Tyson Fury? Who really thinks that?
"You’ve got to get comfortable with your team first before you take a fight of that magnitude. He clearly doesn’t have it together with his new trainer yet, so to fight the top guy of the division before having it together with your trainer, how stupid would that be?
"So no, you don’t put him in with Tyson Fury right now. Let him get comfortable with his new trainer first, then fight Tyson Fury.”
Joshua announced his partnership with new trainer Derrick James in March, ahead of his fight with Franklin. The former trainer of the year also works with undisputed light middleweight champion Jermell Charlo and three-belt welterweight champion Erroll Spence Jr.
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