Heavyweight king Tyson Fury will not care one jot, but David Haye – the man who twice pulled out of a fight with Fury – claims newly crowned IBF heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua would have too much for Fury if they fought “right now.” Speaking with Sky Sports, Haye went as far as to state how he doesn’t think Fury “has a shot in hell” against Joshua.
“I think he’s ready for Tyson Fury right now,” Haye said of A.J. “Joshua has already beaten him up in sparring. You’ve only got to go on YouTube and look at the comments of Fury talking about getting beaten up by a young Joshua. That was when he was an amateur; a novice. Now that Joshua is a professional I don’t think Fury has a shot in hell. Hopefully, he’ll face Fury if Fury beats Wladimir Klitschko in July.”
It’s tough to agree with what Haye says, for a few reasons. Firstly, Joshua may have been a “novice” when he acquitted himself well against Fury in that sparring session, but Fury himself had had just a few pro fights (the spar took place in 2009 and Fury was still in single digits as far as pro fights boxed) and he was nothing like the fighter that beat Wladimir last November (something, a great performance, Haye was, is and always will be jealous of perhaps?). Also, is Haye hoping – not thinking – but hoping Joshua beats Fury? That way, Haye will, likely, get a shot at Joshua; in a fight he feels he can win. Styles make fights, as we know, and some people – including Fury of course – insist Haye wanted/wants nothing to do with Fury. Haye would much rather fight Joshua, a 16-fight “work in progress” than risk it with Fury, so a certain line of thinking goes.
In any case, Joshua is not likely to fight Fury as soon as this year. More likely that British super-fight (which is how it will be billed and hyped up) will take place next summer. In the meantime, Fury – the one and only real heavyweight champion – has the tough task of repeating his win over Klitschko. Until that fight plays itself out, nothing else at heavyweight really matters.
Say what you want about Fury, but he earned his shot the hard way, he won the title the hard way, and now he has the hard work of retaining it against the second best heavyweight on the planet.
