LONDON — Tyson Fury has urged Anthony Joshua to fight him next and “forget Deontay Wilder” should he beat Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday.
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) will return from his latest retirement and fight for the first time in 16 months against Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium [Netflix, 10 p.m. U.K, 2 p.m. ET in U.S].
While the 37-year-old has said he isn’t looking past his Russian opponent, he issued an emphatic plea to Joshua on Wednesday, calling on his fellow Brit to not take a bout in the interim.
“That fight was supposed to happen so many times over the last 10 years but then someone has had one more fight in between and someone has got knocked out or injured,” Fury told reporters on Wednesday.
“I think we should get this fight on as soon as possible, in case something happens in between.
“The problem is, in heavyweight boxing, anything can go wrong, there are no easy fights. And if you get knocked upside down, it’s finished, it’s done.
“I want the fight next and I am sure that AJ feels the same.”
The two British heavyweights have had talks on-and-off to fight at various times over the last several years, but a fight has never eventuated.
In his first public appearance in the U.K. since a car crash in Nigeria on Dec. 29 which killed two of his closest friends, Joshua was ringside on Saturday to watch Deontay Wilder beat Derek Chisora at The O2.
Wilder called out Joshua as he left the ring for what would be another fight fans have waited almost a decade for.
While Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has said they would prefer to have a run out before fighting Fury, Fury himself urged Joshua to not delay anymore.
“Forget Wilder, the man is a shell of himself, forget anyone else,” Fury said. “Let me get through Saturday and then we will do the fight before the end of the year.
“I’ve been out of the ring longer than he [Joshua] has, 16 months out of the ring. Let’s do it, let’s dance.”
Joshua beat Jake Paul in December in what was his first fight since the previous September when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois.
Fury’s manager Spencer Brown has said they are fully focused on Makhmudov, but is confident the fight against Joshua can finally happen.
“We don’t talk about that business until this fight’s done, then we go straight in and talk about the business,” Brown told ESPN.
“Once the fight’s finished and Tyson wins and everyone’s happy, his family is happy, and he’s happy, bring it on. Let’s see the fight. I like Anthony Joshua. I like AJ, I love Tyson Fury. We’re team Fury.
“Let’s see this fight. The World Cup final of boxing. It’s bigger than that … So let’s see it. I know who my money is on.
“I just feel that we’re going to see it.
“It’s not a question of when, it’s a question of how and when. Where’s it going to be.
“People say [at] Croke Park, people say Wembley. Listen, it’s going to be a momentous occasions. I want to live and breathe every moment of it.”
