Tyson Fury has disappointed fans by insisting they will never see a fight between himself and Anthony Joshua.
A meeting between the British duo would be one of the biggest fights in boxing, and has come close to happening on two separate occasions. First, in August of 2021, the duo were about to sign contracts for a bout in Saudi Arabia when they held all of the belts, but Fury was obligated to fight Deontay Wilder in a trilogy first, and in the meantime Joshua lost his belts.
Then over the past few months talks were underway for Joshua to challenge Fury for his WBC world heavyweight title, despite having lost his last two fights to Oleksandr Usyk. Both teams were close to a deal and contracts were exchanged, but sponsorship issues got in the way of the Londoner signing, which Fury believes has closed the door entirely.
"I don't think it'll happen," Fury said during a recent interview with IFL TV. "If it was going to happen it would have happened in December just gone when Chisora stepped up, manned up and stepped up to the plate. I can guarantee you will not see it, 100 per cent. Like you didn't see Froch-Calzaghe, you didn't see Hatton-Witter, you didn't see Amir Khan vs any of them.
"It's not happening, mush, 100 per cent, it's not happening. I'm going to take on the man that beat him twice, so what is he? Irrelevant or what? I'm going to knock out the guy that beat him twice, what are they going to say about me then? 'Oh my gosh, who is this guy? Where has he come from?'"
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Joshua is still keen to face Fury, although he admitted in a YouTube video with GQ that he feels there is "more swag" to a rematch with Dillian Whyte. It appears the pair's paths won't cross for the foreseeable future, with Fury to face Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed title before likely moving on to Joe Joyce next year, with a potential Usyk rematch in the mix as well.
Meanwhile, Joshua is expected to return to action with a tune-up fight at the start of next year, before likely moving on to that Whyte rematch, which is a trilogy of sorts after the pair met in the amateurs as well as the professional ranks. He could then face Deontay Wilder, who he insists he will fight within 2023.
"It has to be Dillian Whyte. South London, North London," Joshua said when asked which fight he would prefer between his London rival or a heavyweight title bout with the Manchester native. "Fury's good, but he's a Manchester boy. I think Dillian has more swag in general, but he's come up short a few times."
