Anthony Joshua says Fury still has much to prove
Within most boxing circles, it’s generally agreed upon that the man to beat within the heavyweight division is WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury (30-0-1, 21 KO’s). After defeating Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KO’s) in such devastating fashion earlier this year, as well ending Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko’s long standing reign in 2015, many feel that he is the most well-rounded fighter in the division.
Well that is the opinion of some, but definitely not all! One person who is not enamored by Fury in the slightest is WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world heavyweight champion Anthony “AJ” Joshua (23-1, 21 KO’s). For the UK superstar, he has done some good in the industry, but not nearly enough for people to crown the Gypsy King the next best thing in town.
FACT OR FLUKE
Going a step beyond saying that he was not necessarily the supreme being in the weight class, Joshua is not even sure that his potential foe has what it takes to remain on top as one of the champions. In his estimation, Fury has spent far more time being idle and fighting lackluster competition than he has demonstrating real dominance over elite opposition.
“Wladimir Klitschko was his first real challenge and he won that. That took him eight years to get there – from the amateurs to there. Then he had years out and fought Wilder.”
“But he has not been in the deep end to prove that he can swim there for a long time. You don’t just come there once or twice, you have to do it repeatedly against championship level fighters; that is how you gain my respect.”
WHAT’ S THE BIG DEAL
Before they would have a chance to test one another, both Fury and Joshua have business to handle. The Gypsy King first has to face Wilder in a trilogy bout. For his part, AJ must get past IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat “The Cobra” Pulev (28-1, 14 KO’s).
Provided that they are successful in these endeavors, the two champions have already agreed to go head-to-head. Yet, clearly from the sounds of things, Joshua is not shaking in his boots thinking about the difficulties that Fury may present.
“If the sport is lacking so much talent, it shows that all you need is feints and a bit of movement to be called a great. I wonder what people see in Fury that is so intimidating that he can’t be touched?”
It will be interesting to see how the very verbose Gypsy King responds to Joshua’s statements.
By: Bakari Simpson
