Big blow for boxing fans as Tyson Fury dismisses future fight with Anthony Joshua

There was big news in the boxing world last month when an undisputed heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk was confirmed to finally take place.

The exact details for that blockbuster bout are yet to be made public as Fury prepared to take on former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a 10-round, officially recognised matchup in Saudi Arabia on October 28.

However, the Gypsy King has suggested that he will be ready to trade blows with the Ukrainian two-weight world champion on December 23, despite that giving him less than two months to properly prepare for the bout.

Whenever and wherever it takes place, Fury vs Usyk is a fight with huge appeal. Both men will put their unbeaten records on the line in a bid to be crowned the king of the Blue Riband division, and it will be massive for the sport of boxing in its current state.

The boxing betting odds for Fury vs Usyk are in the Gypsy King’s favour as well, with the bookmakers making the Briton the heavy odds-on favourite at 2/5. His opponent, who currently holds the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring titles, is 7/4, while the draw is 14/1.

If the bookies have priced the fight correctly, and Fury does come out on top to unify the heavyweight division and extend his professional record to 35-1-0, then boxing fans had hoped the 35-year-old would move immediately on to another blockbuster encounter – against Anthony Joshua.

‘AJ’ suffered the second and third defeats of his career at the hands of Usyk, arguably tarnishing his status as one of the greatest heavyweights. However, Joshua isn’t giving up yet and is set to return to the ring to face Fury’s old opponent Deontay Wilder.

Joshua claimed at the United States Grand Prix in Austin that his fight against Wilder could take place on the undercard of Fury vs Usyk, which would make it an immense night of boxing. But, the Gypsy King ruled out the possibility of that happening and branded Joshua ‘embarrassing’ for suggesting it.

The mega-card not happening isn’t the only big blow Fury dealt boxing fans in the build-up to his fight with Ngannou, however. The Gypsy King also ruled out a future bout with Joshua, telling Sky Sports that both ‘AJ’ and Wilder are ‘out in the cold.’

“They’re both out in the cold and they’re both frozen so it doesn’t really matter,” he said when quizzed about facing the winner of the matchup.

While nobody would be bothered if Fury never faced Wilder again, given that the 35-year-old dominated their trilogy, it would be a crying shame should an all-British bout between the Gypsy King and Joshua never take place before the end of their respective careers.

A possible future fight for AJ could be Ngannou, with the Cameroonian claiming he would like to face Joshua after a second bout with Fury.

“I think we’re going to run it back for sure first, then maybe see Anthony Joshua,” he told Sky Sports.