Tyson Fury sends a strong message to Anthony Joshua after beating Mariusz Wach
Tyson Fury didn’t hold back as he called out his rival Anthony Joshua after his big comeback win against Mariusz Wach. Everyone knows that a huge heavyweight fight between Fury and Joshua might finally happen later this year. But before that, both fighters agreed to have a warm-up match this month to get ready for what many see as a career-defining fight.
Joshua is set to fight Albanian puncher Kristian Prenga at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. This will be his first fight since a tragic car crash in Nigeria, which left him with minor injuries but sadly took the lives of two close friends, Kevin Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami.
Just over a day before, Fury had his second fight this year with a strong TKO win over Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in a private charity match in Pattaya, Thailand.
If Joshua wins his upcoming fight, many expect the big all-British showdown with Fury to be confirmed soon after, probably later this year. But after beating Wach, Fury said he’s “not convinced” the fight with Joshua will actually happen — and he gave one clear reason why.
“I passed my test tonight. Let’s see if he passes his. The biggest test is how big his balls are. I think he’s a big s***house,” Fury joked. “In Tottenham in front of 70,000 people, he never had the guts to get in the ring with me. Let’s see if he ever does. I’m not convinced.”
Fans were hoping Fury would fly straight to Jeddah to face Joshua if he beats Prenga. But Fury, who’s spent two months training in Thailand with heavyweight Joseph Parker and his 14-year-old son Prince, said he’s going home instead.
“No chance. I’ll go face off with my wife,” he laughed. “I’ve been away for six or seven months. I’m definitely not going to Jeddah. I’m going home to my wife and kids who’ve supported me from afar. I’ve been in training camp for 10 weeks, plus four months before that, so I’m going to rest.”
While the details of Fury vs Joshua are still unclear, most expect the fight to happen toward the end of the year, giving both fighters time to recover from their summer warm-up bouts. November seems like the most likely month.
The big sticking point now is the venue. Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh wants the fight to happen at 4am BST to attract US viewers. This makes it more likely the fight won’t be in the UK. Las Vegas is the favorite, since Wembley can’t host it because of a 1am curfew.
But if it moves outside the UK, Alalshikh will need to negotiate with Fury and Joshua again. Matchroom boxing chief Eddie Hearn said the provisional contract states the fight has to happen in the UK.
“We have a great relationship with Turki Alalshikh,” Hearn said to BBC Sport. “If he wants to do the fight in America, we’d all be disappointed because everyone wants this fight in the UK. But since he’s paying, we need to figure it out. If changes are needed, we’ll have to renegotiate everything.”
Other possible venues being talked about include Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, both big spaces with room for huge crowds.