LONDON — Tyson Fury said if he doesn’t get to fight Anthony Joshua next he has no interest in continuing boxing.
Fury marked his return to the ring with a unanimous win over Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, boxing well and shaking off the ring rust after a 16-month hiatus.
Having already said earlier in the week he wanted to face Joshua next, Fury doubled down and emphatically called out his British rival.
Joshua didn’t commit to the fight and refused to get in the ring with Fury, who made it clear he only wants to face Joshua next.
“Let’s get the fight on. Here’s the thing. If it ain’t Anthony Joshua next, I ain’t interested in boxing,” Fury told his post-fight news conference.
“I’ll eat a thousand Easter eggs go up to 35 stone. I’m out. I’m not interested. It’s either him or I’m gone again.
“I’m not interested in up-and-comers, someone trying to prove a point over me, I don’t care. I don’t care about rankings. I don’t care about belts. I only care now about AJ. That’s the defining fight for British boxing.”
A fight between the two former two-time heavyweight champions has been on-and-off for the best part of a decade.
However, negotiations have always fallen through, despite coming close to a 2021 bout — a matchup that would have been for the undisputed title.
Promoter Frank Warren said Fury had signed and agreed to take the fight while his manager, Spencer Brown, said he believes the fight will “100% happen this year.”
There was no indication where the fight would be held, with London’s Wembley Stadium and Croke Park in Dublin floated as potential venues.
Despite Joshua’s denial that the fight was definitely on, Netflix posted on social media that it would take place this autumn.
Joshua refused to engage in Fury’s post-fight call out, instead remaining straight-faced and in his seat rather than getting in the ring.
“I’m going to be completely honest, there’s a negotiation that you go through. I’ve sat at this table with him many times,” Joshua said on Netflix.
“In my heart, I’ll fight Tyson Fury tomorrow, especially after watching [this fight]. I’m not going to sit here and say: ‘Yeah, I’ll fight him.’ I’m not here to get clout. I’m here to fight. Contracts will be sent over. We’ll go through the nitty gritty and you’ll probably see us in the ring next, more than likely.”
Joshua said a fight in the interim is an option and he will need time to consider his next steps after being involved in a car crash in Nigeria in December that claimed the lives of two of his closest friends.
“I was just in a serious incident maybe four months ago,” Joshua said. “So, I need to really check out what’s going on with my return to the ring. But I’m here. I’m keeping my eye in the game. There’s real stuff happening in my life. I’m not ducking no one.
“I know what my job is. I know what I’m here to do, but there’s just real stuff happening in my life that I also got to attend to.”
