Tyson Fury stood victorious in the ring at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium late Saturday night, fresh off a 12-round clinic against Arslanbek Makhmudov. But the Gypsy King had only one name on his mind: Anthony Joshua.
“Ten years in the making and still, after all this time, there’s uncertainty if this fight’s gonna happen next,” Fury said, his voice tinged with frustration. “I’ve no idea. I hope so but you can’t force someone to do something.”
Joshua had been seated ringside, capturing Fury’s methodical dismantling of Makhmudov on his phone. When the final bell rang, Fury issued a live callout on Netflix. Joshua stared back silently. Handed a microphone, technical issues drowned out his response. Even in a later interview, Joshua dodged definitive commitment.
“I’ve been chasing you for the last 10 years,” Joshua finally stated. “You tell me your terms and conditions and I’ll have you in the ring when I’m ready. I’m the boss, you work for me. I’m the landlord.”
He added, “Contracts are being sent over and you’ll probably see us in the ring next, more than likely.” Asked if he needed a warmup fight first, Joshua fired back: “Good question. That [Fury] could be a warmup fight, based on what I saw tonight.”
Fury, unaware of Joshua’s comments, remained skeptical. “I never mentioned Anthony Joshua in the buildup, or since his accident,” he noted. “Tonight he came here and I asked him to do the fight, but he didn’t give an answer. In my opinion he didn’t want no smoke. He didn’t look like he wanted it. He was shell-shocked.”
The British heavyweights have endured brutal careers. Fury survived a hellish trilogy with Deontay Wilder, winning two and drawing one, before dropping two narrow decisions to Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua, once dominant, was crushed by Daniel Dubois in September 2024. He returned last December for a lucrative but questionable bout against Jake Paul, appearing lackluster before breaking Paul’s jaw.
Fury dismissed the idea that Joshua needs a tune-up. “It’s another stumbling block. He’s just knocked a man spark out,” Fury argued. “I’ve just come off a win. Let’s get it on. He’s 36. I’m 37. What’s the holdup? This was supposed to happen years ago but it’s still the biggest fight in boxing. I don’t think there’s a stadium in the world we couldn’t sell out.”
Pressed on a potential two-fight deal, Fury shot back, “Let’s just get one first. One would do.” He also waved off challenging the winner of next month’s WBO title fight between Fabio Wardley and Dubois. “What have I got to prove against some schoolboys in the division?” Fury asked. “I want to fight Anthony Joshua, the same age as me, two British boxing legends. Let’s fucking fight.”
Fury expressed surprise that Joshua didn’t enter the ring post-fight. “He was brought here tonight, ringside, for a reason – to get in that ring, make a face-off and get the fight signed. I signed months ago. He had his opportunity to accept and shake hands. Let’s dance. But he didn’t. He was very evasive and didn’t give no definitive answers.”
Money isn’t the sticking point for Fury. “I’m not interested in all that bullshit,” he declared. “I’ve got more money than anybody could spend in this fucking room. He’ll get his money and I’ll get mine. And if he gets £600m, and I get £50, good luck to him. It’s gone beyond all that.”
Fury’s manager, Spencer Brown, remains optimistic. “I think the fight will 100% happen this year,” Brown stated. Fury himself isn’t so sure.
When asked if Joshua deserves more understanding after his personal tragedy – a car crash in Nigeria four months ago that killed two of his closest friends – Fury responded with raw honesty. “He’s had his problems. We all have. God knows, I’ve had problems myself. I’ve attempted to kill myself before. So I’ve been through it. I’ve been up and down. I’ve been one step out of a mental institution. So we’ve all had our problems and that’s life, unfortunately.”
He continued, “But if you’re in this game, you’re either a boxer or you’re not. And the problem is, if you take interim fights in heavyweight boxing you can get chinned. It’s not like we’re two flyweights and it’s tip-tap. Just say he did fight Wilder and Wilder detonated on him. Does anyone want to see me and Wilder again? God knows, I don’t.”
Fury’s ultimatum is clear. “If it ain’t Anthony Joshua, next, I’m not interested in boxing. I’ll eat a thousand Easter eggs, go up to 35 stone. I’m out. It’s either him or I’m gone again. I’m not interested in up-and-comers. I’m not interested in someone trying to prove a point over me. I don’t care about rankings or belts. I only care now about AJ. That’s the defining fight for British boxing.”
The clock is ticking. After a decade of hype, delays, and cancellations, Fury vs. Joshua remains boxing’s most tantalizing unfinished business. With both legends at 36 and 37, time is the one opponent they can’t outbox.
