Anthony Joshua has revealed he wants an extra seven years at the top – but his first priority is to score with Tyson Fury over an old Rolex.
Joshua on Tuesday confirmed that progress has been made in the past week over the proposed £ 200m festival in May 2021 which would be one of the biggest events in British sporting history.
Having initially challenged opportunities to ignite the fires of that conflict against Fury after beating Kubrat Pulev, Joshua has now picked up the story by saying he wants to ‘Fury’ s head. take off his shoulders’.
Anthony Joshua put the fires ahead of the potentially big Tyson Fury fight by saying he wants to ‘get his head off his shoulders’
Fury is in talks with heavyweight rival Joshua over Britain’s battle for May
He came amidst recollections of a famous sparring encounter with a WBC champion in 2010. Audio footage has recently reappeared in which Fury, an emerging professional, admitted, that he took a ‘beating’ from the 20-year-old amateur.
That session came with the catat if Joshua or any other heavyweight could beat Fury, they could take off his Rolex, even though the watch didn’t change hands at its fingertips. finally.
With a brutal fight between the Brits now closer than it had ever come to fruition, Joshua, 31, said: ‘All I wanted was a Rolex watch. He said before that spar (to Boxing News), “If you can hit me or knock me out, you can have my Rolex watch”.
‘I was hungry then and I’m even nicer now. It was a great spar. I didn’t know too much, it was just passion. Now that I have some boxing IQ and passion, I know it will be a great fight.
‘There was a Rolex but now there’s an even bigger pot of gold at the end of this rainbow and I want to take his head off his shoulder when that fight happens.’
Fury (pictured right, in 2011) admits he was beaten out by Joshua back in 2010
AJ (in 2010, the year he was inspired by Fury) says his competitor was promised Rolex but never received it
Joshua, the IBF, WBA and WBO champion, said: ‘After Pulev’ s fight I didn’t want to do any interviews – less conversation and more action. I stood next to that. But now that we’re talking about it, a week or so later, and I’m done, I’m fine. If that fight happens I am sure I will win. How close are we? I promise that conversations will take place. We are definitely looking at the landscape. But until you hear it from me, don’t buy into anything.
‘I take my time – because there’s a lot going back and forth for years. I have been running this road without a doubt and when the time is right I will tell it and my mind will be fully focused on the work at hand.
‘The tenders will be made, substantial offers. I look more optimistic as if it happens to be honest with you. He should take this fight with both hands.
‘I promise you this: I will submit a great offer to fight Tyson Fury and if it is really his own, he will accept it. If it’s not there I’ll fight (Oleksandr) Usyk and leave him there. ‘
Usyk is among the odds surrounding the fight for the title no doubt, as the Ukrainian is the compelling opponent for Joshua’s WBO belt.
With the WBO currently holding Joshua under duty to fight the next Usyk, Joshua may have to leave the belt to negotiate with Fury. When asked about handing out one of his titles, Joshua said: ‘The belts make it special but I feel like the calls from the public are just for me to fight Tyson Fury.
AJ said his team will make a big offer for Fury but that they could go fight later in 2021
Joshua has a mandatory WBO Oleksandr Usyk and had to step aside to let Fury fight
‘I’m the kind of person who allows my team to submit a social media poll and no matter what the fans vote for, I’ll do that. If they want to see me fight Fury, and I have to give up… There is nothing more than I want to compete against the best.
‘If that’s Tyson Fury, that’s fine. If they want me to fight Usyk, and get him out of the way, then fine. I believe I will beat Usyk and then Tyson Fury can happen at the end of the year. Either way, I’m just doing my next two fights next year on what the public wants me to do. ‘
As for his future, Joshua pointed out that he has a point in his mind for when he will retire.
He said: ‘I have a timetable, I want to go to around 38.
‘I’m not just looking at Tyson Fury, but as far as I can get into the sport. What more do I need to give? I’m young and cheerful, I don’t do anything else so boxing is fun for me and keeps me busy.
‘Tyson Fury is a good opponent, someone to help me make progress, it will be a great learning fight. And, once that’s done, I go on to compete with the best, challenge myself and make history. ‘
Joshua, who wants to fight on until he is 38, has created a rescue package for amateur boxing clubs
Meanwhile, Joshua has created a huge rescue package for struggling amateur boxing clubs – and has backed the Daily Mail’s campaign to save sport among the masses.
The united global heavyweight champion has taken a step to make a ‘substantial’ financial contribution to the sport’s national amateur governing bodies in England, Wales and Scotland amid fears that clubs will close. soon because of the pandemic.
Joshua, who changed his life when he joined Finchley ABC as a troubled teenager in 2007, has also called on the Government to do more to address the mass sports crisis. Revealing that his decision to engage in the fight to save amateur boxing was influenced by reading Sportsmail’s A story of Britain ‘s oldest club, Repton, Joshua said:’ We need to look at the boxing industry and the importance of sport to the public.
‘I definitely think boxing gyms will go under (without help). It came to my mind when I read the article from Repton, about understanding the costs of what it takes to keep the gym open. Not just keeping the gym open, but the income they made independently to keep going and has been incredibly difficult.
‘There are clubs that are struggling even worse. That is why I feel it is important to pay attention to this issue. Without the amateur system, the clubs among the population, there are no Olympians and without them there are no world champions in the country. ‘