“Let’s Do Joshua in December” Says Tyson Fury & More on The Heavyweight Mess

by Kris Anthony (krisanthonyboxing@gmail.com)

Last night we witnessed a fight going to plan with no banana skin trod on. Daniel Dubois brought just over three minutes of pain delivered at the destination of late substitute Ricardo Snijders. The fight was stopped accordingly.

In the BT Studio was Tyson Fury who was interviewed by Steve Bunce and Fury had plenty to say.

He wants to fight on December 19th, the date his promoter Frank Warren has on hand for the third installment against Deontay Wilder. But Wilder and his team are uncharacteristically quiet and have been for a while that makes one think for some reason he does not actually want another installment with Fury yet. 

With the clock ticking, Tyson wants to fight and has stated if Wilder does not want it then how about Anthony Joshua, the fight the whole boxing world wants and if it did, that would be early Christmas for every fan, both hardcore and the casual. And if not then it looks like Povetkin could be targeted IF Dillian Whyte does not execute his rematch clause. This could be a very possible path as Kubrat Pulev is insisting his shot at Joshua (he is Joshua’s mandatory) so December 19th seems wishful thinking. We can all dream.

The heavyweight mess was for a moment seemingly clear(er) once Whyte had lost to Povetkin as the WBC has stated that Fury does not have to take on a mandatory fight for at least twelve months paving the way clear for Fury vs Joshua. If only it was that simple and it appears money doesn’t talk as Pulev wants his shot at the title.

“If Wilder doesn’t happen, let’s do Joshua in December,” Fury said. “Why not? It’s a boxing match, let’s get it on. I’m ready to go now. I could fight him in that ring tonight. I’d still kick his arse any time of the day.

“I’m a gym junkie. I need the work. I said to Frank, I said to Bob, I said to the MTK guys ’I want a fight, I’ve been training non-stop, I’m ready to fight, let’s get to work’. Whatever type of fight it is, wherever it is, let’s get it on and make it happen.

“If Wilder can’t take the fight, who knows what is next. I know Povetkin is now my mandatory, I don’t know what is going on with that, whether there is going to be a rematch, whatever. Maybe I will fight Drew McIntyre for the WWE heavyweight championship, who knows. I hear he has been calling me out.”

“Do I see the fight happening any time soon? Hopefully,” he said. “Hopefully. they grow a pair and want to fight the Gypsy King.

” If I was in their positions and had my chance at glory to go to America and beat Wilder, but they didn’t take it, so I had to come out of retirement, set about him a couple of times, take the No 1 spot, take all the glory and then they are all looking up to me. 

“He must be sitting there thinking ‘that could have been me’. But it wasn’t. It’s their own fault. Whether it was bad management, bad advice, didn’t want the fight for whatever reason, it has played a massive part in how it has all panned out. All the cards have been dealt and they have to come through me.

“So I am saying ‘grow a pair, come and see the champ and I’ll sort you all out’. I am just waiting here patiently. Can’t be stopped, can’t be rocked, can’t be touched, can’t be moved.  No fights on the horizon, training like a lunatic, running up mountains and becoming a human racehorse. I am looking forward to all challenges. Whoever they are, bring them to the Gypsy King and I’ll deal with them in exciting fashion. 

“We’re all open to talking. Sitting down as men, as adults, bring your handbags and let’s do it.

“At the moment, we don’t know where we are,” Warren said. “The idea is to get it on on December 19 in the States or another territory. That’s what we are all working collectively to do.

“That’s what we all want. But our hands are tied. There is something different happening in every country. It all depends, at the end of the day on two things. Either we have a big live crowd in and if that doesn’t happen then we need a big guarantee as a site fee. Sometimes they both go together.

“If somebody comes up with a site fee – and there are people who are talking about doing that and we are talking to a number of people. And we will see what happens. We want to get it on. We want to get it on for Tyson. He has been training hard now since February. He literally came back from the States, went back in the gym and was training hard. He wants to fight and what he wants we have to deliver.

“It has been two years since I had that mental breakthrough,” Fury said. “It took me to get to 29 years old to realise that I can be happy all the time if I train all the time. So. I train twice a day five days a week and once on a Saturday and I’m really happy with it. I can fit in all my clothes and feel mentally good, it works for me, it is my medicine to train. 

“I spent a long, long time, a long period in my life, from being ten-12 years old to being 27 where I only trained to box. And I would do a training camp, get in good shape, 10-12 weeks, have the fight, win and go and put five stone (70 pounds) back on within the next 3-4 months before I was active again.

“I realised when I made the comeback that I don’t have to do that anymore. That hard work I used to put myself through doesn’t exist anymore. Say I box at 19st, I go in the ring at 19st 2. I’m ready. I’m not battling to lose weight I am fighting at the weight I am walking around at.

“Never mind the lockdown, there are low points on a day to day basis,” he said. “When you are mentally unwell like me on a daily basis, I have highs and lows, I have to deal with it. I have a mechanism of dealing with mental health problems, which is training and thinking positive, doing other things as well, short-term goals. There are always going to low points, always, forever.

“The lockdown was almost a blessing for me, because I had just had the big fight, been away for a long time since mid-November in America. It just stopped everything that was going to happen, all these things people wanted me to do, it all went dead and I didn’t have all this work to do and I could spend precious time with my family and I was still training. It was terrible but you have to make a positive out of a negative.

“People sometimes look at me and say he’s fat, he’s bald and he is ugly to watch, but I get the results, don’t I? 32 in a row now I believe.

“Here’s an interesting fact. Me, the old featherduster who can’t crack an egg, has beaten the No 1 and No 4 biggest punchers in the heavyweight division. No 1 was Wilder and No 4 was Klitschko and Mr featherduster has beaten them both and I am about to beat another one in AJ. That will be three knockout masters by one featherduster.”