Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Sport

Fury hopes to 'give fans what they want' with Joshua showdown

FILE PHOTO: Boxing - Andy Ruiz Jr v Anthony Joshua - IBF, WBA, WBO & IBO World Heavyweight Titles - Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia - December 7, 2019 Anthony Joshua celebrates winning his fight against Andy Ruiz Jr. Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

Tyson Fury said he was eager to give British boxing fans what they want by fighting Anthony Joshua for the undisputed world heavyweight title but he said the duo must focus on their immediate opponents to make such a match happen.

Fury won the WBC title in Las Vegas three months ago with a seventh-round stoppage of Deontay Wilder. Joshua defeated Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr in a December rematch in Saudi Arabia to reclaim his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO titles.

Joshua's next fight is with mandatory IBF challenger Kubrat Pulev, but their bout scheduled for June 20 was postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis. Fury will take on Wilder in a rematch later this year.

FILE PHOTO: Boxing - Deontay Wilder v Tyson Fury - WBC Heavyweight Title - The Grand Garden Arena at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, United States - February 22, 2020 Tyson Fury celebrates winning the fight against Deontay Wilder REUTERS/Steve Marcus

"If I get knocked out by Wilder, then it won't be on, will it," Fury told Sky Sports.

"It'll be another fight with Wilder... If he loses to Pulev, so close, but so far. In heavyweight boxing, you can never count your chickens before they hatch, so one fight at a time, one victory at a time.

Fury said a meeting with Joshua had the potential to be the biggest match since Britons Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno fought in 1993.

"All going well, god willing, we get on the big fight with me and Joshua, the all-British showdown, and I can give the fans what they want to see, especially the British fans."

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.