TYSON FURY HAS laid the gauntlet down to Anthony Joshua, claiming he could beat the heavyweight champion with one hand tied behind his back and no warm-up.
Joshua knocked Wladimir Klitschko out in front of 90,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium on Saturday to add the WBA (Super) and IBO titles to his IBF belt.
Fury won those titles, as well as the WBO prize, when he beat Klitschko on points in November 2015, ending the Ukrainian’s decade-long rule over the division, but the Manchester-born fighter never defended his belts due to personal issues, and was stripped of his titles last year.
Joshua called Fury out after his breakthrough victory at Wembley, but that holds no fear for a man who believes he remains the premier heavyweight on the planet.
Fury told Sky Sports: “He [Joshua] showed a lot in that fight. He showed he can get dropped and come back, which is what champions are made of. He showed he can recover from taking big shots.
“There’s only one fight out there, the biggest fight in the world and everyone knows that. It is the heavyweights. It is me and AJ, no one else. It is the only one the world wants to see and I am here, I am the lineal champion, I am still number one in the world and everybody knows that.
“We all saw [Joshua's career] had a life and death situation against Klitschko, but Klitschko couldn’t land a glove on me. Styles do make fights but I am sure I can beat AJ with one arm tied behind my back.”
Fury went on to boast: “I don’t even need a warm-up if he wants this. I have been out of the ring as long as Klitschko but the difference is, I am not 41, I am 28. AJ did really well to come back but I am not 41 or getting old. He is just a pumped-up weightlifter but [Klitschko] couldn’t land one of those of those hooks on me, at all.”
Only if Joshua has both hands tied behind his back…
@Phil O’ Meara: sure,Tyson beat klitchko when he’s hands behind he’s back, and AJ got put on his arse before winning,so who knows!
What do people expect him to say? This would have been a good fight if Fury didn’t spend so long out of the ring. Joshua would have given plenty of people confidence from the mid rounds of that fight, 9 times out of 10 Joshua doesn’t make it out of that 6th round.
Sure he’d say Mass that lad to try and get the fight
Looks like Joshua wants a payday or two before taking on Wilder
The fact he said he could beat him says it all. He doesn’t realize how tough Joshua would really be form him to bet.
Wilder has nothing but an overhand right clumbsy and another hype job faced 1 decent fighter in career stiverne took distance an will not rematch him.
All looking eddie hearns golden child.
Tyson don’t need a warm up as has great sparring partners is back in the gym to shed them pounds already
October under a closed roof in the millennium anybody ???
He’s no longer champ, they’re no longer his belts
@Matt F: He never lost them though, therefore is still an undefeated world heavyweight champion.
Cocaine, its a hell of drug.