If fight fans haven’t given up all hope of ever seeing Tyson Fury fight Anthony Joshua, they may well do so when they hear what Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren had to say to Sky Sports earlier today. Speaking about Fury’s 2024 programme, Warren made it clear that AJ is no part of it. Warren said how Fury has “got his fight and his programme’s set out for next year and at this moment in time doesn’t include Joshua.”
Fury as we know, is set to face rival heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk on February 17 in Saudi Arabia, with the rematch clause in place. Some people are sceptical the fight will actually go ahead on February 17, as they fear Fury will not be able to reign it in over the Christmas holidays and train like he should. These people, Carl Froch among them, feel Fury may not be able to abstain from enjoying himself over the festive period, and that he will come up with some excuse for not being able to fight on February 17. Let’s hope Fury proves such people to be dead wrong.
Warren, speaking about the future, said that after this Saturday’s big “Day of Reckoning” card in Saudi Arabia, “a number of big fights will be announced.” However, Fury Vs. Joshua will not be one of them.
“He’d have a long wait for Tyson Fury,” Warren said of Joshua. “Tyson’s got his fight and his programme’s set out for next year and at this moment in time doesn’t include Joshua. Joshua, he had two opportunities to fight him [Fury], one last December and this year. Those fights didn’t happen for whatever reason and the situation is now that we are in a position where a number of big fights will be announced. It all depends what happens on Saturday.”
Fury could have two fights with Usyk, while Joshua and Deontay Wilder, providing they both win on Saturday (AJ against Otto Wallin, Wilder against Joseph Parker), are set to fight each other in March. It will be interesting to see if any other big heavyweight fights are announced after Saturday’s card. But as for Fury-Joshua, it does seem as though this is a match up that will never happen. Joshua said recently that it is his belief that the eventual winner of the Fury-Usyk rivalry will not remain as four-belt heavyweight champ for long, AJ believing the belts will again become fragmented. And Fury may well retire after his two battles with Usyk, whether he wins them or not.
Some massive, seemingly inevitable fights just do not get made, and it seems Fury-Joshua will be one of them.
