Anthony Joshua Promises Fans Tyson Fury Fight Is Happening

Anthony Joshua has once again reiterated his desire for a fight with Tyson Fury.

Joshua successfully defended his heavyweight titles following a ninth-round knockout of Kubrat Pulev earlier this month. He is now on course to collide with WBC heavyweight champion Fury in a highly-anticipated title unification clash.

The fight has even been verbally agreed to as per Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn with just a few hurdles to clear. However, many boxing fans are not holding their breath as a title unification clash had been planned multiple times in the past only to not come to fruition.

However, Joshua has come out and promised fans it will happen this time and that he would personally announce it when it’s official.

“How close is the Fury fight? I promise you it’s happening,” he wrote in a guest column in the recent issue of Boxing News (via Boxing Scene). “But until you hear it from me, don’t buy into anything. I’m serious about the fight so when I announce it you’ll know it’s real.

“I’m taking my time because there has been a lot of back-and-forth for years. I’ve been chasing this road to ‘undisputed’ and when the time is right I’ll announce it and I’ll have my mind fully focused on the job at hand.”

Joshua was on course to fight Deontay Wilder a few years ago when the latter was WBC champion only for both sides to fail to come to an agreement.

While the purse split was seemingly a big factor at the time, “AJ” revealed a potential fight with Fury would see an even split.

“When it was Deontay Wilder in my way, that was my focus and he admitted we gave him lucrative offers that he turned down,” Joshua said. “Now it’s Tyson Fury that’s my pure focus. The offers will be made, substantial offers.

“I’ve fought many champions before so it’s obvious to see we’ve done business with world champions before. It’s no different with Fury, he should take this fight with both hands. The money will be split down the middle.”

Of course, one of the other hurdles is the fact that Joshua has a WBO mandatory defense in the form of Oleksandr Usyk.

While getting permission from the WBO to delay the title defense shouldn’t be a major problem, in the case that it is, Joshua has no problem vacating certain belts in order to secure a Fury fight.

“It would be special if all the belts were on the line but I feel like the cries from the public are just for me to fight Tyson Fury,” Joshua added.

Do you believe this fight will take place next year?