Anthony Joshua acknowledged that an all-British showdown with Tyson will be perceived as a monumental encounter. From his perspective? No big deal.
Joshua even suggested in an interview with Britsh GQ that a meeting with Fury would’ve even be the biggest fight of his career. His biggest moments so far are victories over Wladimir Klitschko and Andy Ruiz Jr., the latter in a rematch of his stunning knockout loss.
“You know what? There are going to be bigger fights [than Fury] because I’m not going anywhere,” Joshua said. “I’m here to make history. I’m hungry and fired up. Fury is just another opponent at the end of the day. Yeah, it’s going to be big for everyone else, but I have to keep myself together and look at Fury like he’s just another fighter.
“But in terms of the spectacle, the trash-talking, two juggernauts coming together, I can’t wait.”
Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) won his first heavyweight title in spectacular fashion in April 2016, stopping then-beltholder Charlos Martin in only two rounds. Then, after two successful defenses, he got up from a knockdown to stop Klitschko in 11 rounds and become a major star.
He looked all but unstoppable in three subsequent title defenses and then disaster struck last June. A chubby Mexican-American got up from his own knockdown to put the champion on the canvas four times and stop him in seven rounds.
Everything Joshua had built had come crashing down. How he responded would determine the direction in which his career would go. And he responded well, easily outpointing an ill-prepared Ruiz in December to regain his titles and some of the respect he lost six months earlier.
Next up are separate fights for Fury and Joshua, who are expected to face Deontay Wilder and Kubrat Pulev before the end of the year at sites to be determined if the coronavirus pandemic allows it. If they win, they presumably will face one another in that huge event.
“I’ve tasted what being at the top of the mountain feels like, and I’ve tasted what being knocked off the mountain feels like,” he said. “I’ve climbed my way back up, and whoever steps in front of me now will know that I ain’t looking to go back down.
“So when I’m fighting Pulev and get the opportunity to fight with Tyson Fury for the WBC championship of the world, I think they are going to see what it feels for a man to have had it all, lost it and got it back. A man who has experienced those turbulences doesn’t want to go through that again.”