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Louise Thomas
Editor
Tyson Fury says it would be a “travesty” if he never fought British heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua.
The two preeminent UK fighters of their generation have long been linked with an explosive showdown, but they are approaching the final years of their respective careers without having faced each other.
The likelihood of the bout ever taking place shrunk when Joshua was resoundingly beaten by Daniel Dubois in Wembley last month.
Joshua was floored four times during the bout at Wembley Stadium, as the magnificent Dubois launched a relentless assault from the first bell that eventually ended with the clear favourite being counted out following a thrilling exchange of blows in the fifth round.
Fury watched the action unfold from ringside and didn’t appear impressed by his rival’s performance, which has seemingly scuppered plans for a super fight between the pair. “That’s cost me £150m, the silly c***,” he said, scratching his head.
But Fury, who faces Oleksandr Usyk in a Riyadh rematch in December, insists they must one day get in the ring.
“At the end of the day, it would be a travesty if we didn’t fight,” Fury told TNT Sports. “No matter if he loses 20 more fights. If he doesn’t win another fight and has 10 years away from the game, it doesn’t matter, we have to fight.
“I did an interview recently and said, ‘look it doesn’t matter if we’re 50 years old, we’ll have to fight’. I lost out on one big fight already with David Price. He was a British hope at one stage, that was building up and that would’ve been a massive fight here or in Manchester. But that’s gone now, and it would be a travesty if we didn’t fight each other.”
Joshua insisted after the Dubois fight that he would be back.
“We came up short but we have got to look at the positives and that’s the perspective we have to have, a positive one, always,” he said in a video posted on social media. “Look at what we’ve achieved in the space of 11 years, it’s phenomenal and I want to thank every single one of you that’s been riding with me.
“What a rollercoaster journey, but do you know what the problem is? It is far from over yet. We’ve done it once, we’ve done it twice, doing it a third time hasn’t been easy but I believe it is something I can achieve. It’s about making the right steps forward, working hard, improving and it has to come from here (heart) more than anything.
“It’s only been a day but I know when I sit back I know I’ve got a lot of this (heart). Thanks for your support, thanks for being on this rollercoaster journey with me. Keep your seatbelts tight because deep down in here I know we have a lot more to bring to this game. British boxing, I appreciate you and let’s rise up together, let’s go.”
