Tyson Fury ‘Feels Sorry’ For Anthony Joshua – But Still Wants To Fight Him
Tyson Fury has said he felt “deflated” for Anthony Joshua after his defeat to Daniel Dubois last month, but insisted he still wants to fight his fellow former heavyweight champion.
Joshua (28-4-0 25 KO) is facing an uncertain future at the top of the heavyweight division following a one-sided demolition at the hands of IBF champion Dubois (22-2-0 21 KO), who dropped AJ four times on his way to a fifth-round knockout victory in front of 90,000-plus fans at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Such was the devastating manner of the defeat, there have been many calls from fighters past and present for Joshua to retire.
Fury, who is one of AJ’s most enduring rivals despite the pair never facing in the ring, has so far refused to rub salt into the wounds since that September 21 night, and insisted he sympathized with the former unified champion.
“I feel sorry for him at the minute, being cleaned out in the last fight in five rounds, so he’ll have to do that again – or not – and then decide his future,” Fury told Sky Sports. “I’ve said after every [Anthony Joshua] loss I’ve felt deflated.
“When an adversary loses, and it’s not to you, you do feel down and depressed about it. I felt sad for him. It was sad to see a worthy opponent lose his crown.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn recently said that his fighter is aiming to get straight back in the ring early next year, with the priorities being either a rematch with Dubois or a long-awaited showdown with Fury – and the former lineal champion is keen to take on his fellow Briton.
“I’d still fight him whether he’s got five losses, 10 losses or 20. It’s not important because, at this stage of our careers, it’s about having good fights,” Fury said. “I think it would still be an entertaining and interesting fight for the paying pundit.”
Fury is also plotting his return from a significant loss – the first of his career – and will take on unified champion Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch in December. The pair met in an undisputed bout in May, which saw the Ukrainian become the first four-belt heavyweight world champion following a thrilling split-decision victory in Riyadh.
Fury and Usyk will return to the Kingdom Arena in the Saudi Arabian capital on December 21, although it will be for three belts this time (WBA, WBC, WBO) after the IBF stripped the Ukrainian of its title.
Fury looked to be in slight control of the first bout until a remarkable ninth round turned the fight on its head and allowed Usyk to nudge ahead on the scorecards. The Gypsy King has previously said he has learned his lessons from the first bout and is supremely confident of victory in the rematch.
Should he deliver on his prediction of a stoppage win, Fury said he hopes to secure a trilogy bout with Usyk, following on from his three-fight rivalries with Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora.
“I would like to have a trilogy with Usyk. It would be 1-1 and then we would have to do a rubber match and I’d be the only heavyweight in history to have three trilogies,” he said. “That would be quite impressive.”
