Tony Bellew believes Anthony Joshua will face WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in their long-awaited mega-fight in December.
Joshua announced this week that he won’t be fighting until December. He had previously talked of wanting to fight three times this year by fighting in July and then in December, but he’s changed his mind.
There are rumors that Joshua’s December fight will be in Saudi Arabia against either Fury or Deontay Wilder. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said last week that he wants to match him against Andy Ruiz in the summer and then Oleksandr Usyk in December in Saudi Arabia.
“My thinking from the outside looking in, it’s Fury,” said Tony Bellew to the DAZN Boxing Show, predicting Anthony Joshua fights Tyson Fury in December.
“I can’t dress it up as anything else. I’m surprised because I know he [Joshua] wants to go back out to Dallas and continue training with Derrick James again. I’m shocked, to be honest.”
“Even if it is Fury in December, why can’t AJ still have a fight in the summer?” said Ade Oladipo. “One thing he wants to do with Derrick James is that kind of a relationship growing. So surely, even if they’re told that it’s potentially Fury in December, if you’re Derrick, you’re thinking, ‘Let’s squeeze one more in if we can in the summer,’ or is it not worth risking?
“If you’re Joshua, you don’t want to go from Jermaine [Franklin] to Fury, or do you?”
“That’s what makes me worry. I would think AJ would want another one, but that’s something Fury would do 100%,” said Bellew. “They would say, ‘We don’t want anything at risk,’ and I get it because it’s such a huge fight. AJ is coming off the back of a win.
“I do get it. Why take any risks? ‘Let’s just do this fight.’ It wouldn’t surprise me. I knew he [Fury] never wanted to fight Usyk. Him and AJ is still a monster, and I can’t even begin to think or imagine it’s Wilder.
“That’s the most crazy, chaotic fight in the heavyweight division, bar anyone, because absolutely no one can predict what’s going to happen there. I don’t care who you are. If Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder face off with each other next when the first bell goes, no one is telling me with certainty,” said Bellew.
“I think it’s a shame that we’re not seeing AJ again until December,” said Oladipo. “Again, I wanted to see him fight three times this year. If it’s Wilder or Fury, then I’m happy with it, but it’s a shame that we’re not going to see him fight three times this year.”
