Soccer
  • Home
  • Boxing
  • “They let the whole boxing world down” Anthony Joshua hits out at Tyson Fury’s team

“They let the whole boxing world down” - Anthony Joshua hits out at Tyson Fury’s team

"With or without Usyk in my life I’m going to fight Fury. Let’s put it that way. Usyk’s not the end all and be all..."

Anthony Joshua has insisted that his fight with Tyson Fury "has to happen" and he blames his rival's team for letting boxing down.

Talks were ongoing for months between both sides with the view for the Brits to fight this summer.

The plan was for there to be a two-fight deal, with the second bout taking place towards the end of 2021.

For a 100% bonus offer to bet on Fury-Wilder 3, visit Planet Sport Bet.

Matchroom supremo Eddie Hearn was working around the clock to get the deal across the line. This led to both fighters agreeing to a site deal in Saudi Arabia. The proposed date was August 14.

This news circulated in May. Frustratingly, this deal broke down days later. This came as Deontay Wilder won his arbitration case against Fury.

This ruled that the Gypsy King must have his trilogy fight against the American before he could face AJ or anyone else.

Wilder was reportedly demanding around £20m to step aside, but Bob Arum was not interested in offering him any money.

So that was that. In a matter of days, Fury had gone from almost signing on to fight Joshua in August to agreeing to square off against Wilder on July 24 in Las Vegas.

Instead of facing Fury, Joshua now looks set to fight Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian is the mandatory challenger for AJ's WBO world heavyweight title.

Usyk unified the cruiserweight division by stopping Tony Bellew and since stepping up to heavyweight, he has beaten Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora.

Ahead of that fight, Joshua has been interviewed by Sky Sports. He suggested that he will face Fury regardless of what happens against Usyk:

"Unfortunately [Fury's] team let the whole boxing world down. I will still be here, still ready to put on a show," Joshua said.
"But look, let me get past Usyk first. With or without Usyk in my life I'm going to fight Fury. Let's put it that way. Usyk's not the end all and be all. Usyk doesn't determine that fight.
"That fight has to happen. It's a big fight - bigger than boxing, bigger than the belts. So yeah, it'll happen.
"After I fight Usyk and defend my belts and hopefully the world's back to normal, this fight is going to be absolutely bigger and better than what it would have been in a few weeks."

AJ is pissed off, and we like it…

Understandably, Joshua is in a bullish mood at the moment. Since he beat Kubrat Pulev in December, he has been left twiddling his thumbs ahead of the Fury fight.

After five months of this, Joshua was right to be pissed off when it all fell apart.

This revelation would have been even more annoying given that he was training for Fury and that the change was out of his control.

Listening to his latest interviews, Joshua is very focused and he is speaking out against the likes of Wilder and Fury more than he has ever done before.

READ MORE: Class of 2012: Where are Team GB's Olympic boxing heroes now?

When it comes to his fighting, expect this attitude to do him the world of good.

Joshua's fundamentals have improved immensely in recent years, but this new attitude should see him become more spiteful in the ring.

The Usyk fight is a huge test for him, but given his current mindset, you would be foolish to doubt him.
If AJ can beat the former unified world champion in style, this could be his most impressive victory to date and what a way that would be to set him up for Fury…

More Articles