Anthony Joshua has told Tyson Fury he will use his trash talk as fuel when they eventually meet in the ring.
Joshua and Fury have been on a collision path since Joshua became world champion in 2016 but a fight has yet to materialise. Fury currently controls three of the heavyweight world belts and will take on fellow champion Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 to declare the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
Joshua, who knocked out former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in the second round last month, expects to meet the winner this year. And he has claimed he will use Fury’s long list of insults to help prepare him for his fellow countryman.
This is one of my opponents,” Joshua will declare on The Jonathan Ross Show this weekend. “This is someone I want to compete with one day so everything he says, I’ve got it all stored in the back of my brain and when the fight happens, I’m going to use it as a lot of fuel.
“I think what they’re saying is be patient because you’ve got Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for all the belts and then once that’s done hopefully I can kick down the door and get my opportunity.”
Joshua’s next fight is slated to take place at Wembley in September, possibly against the winner of Filip Hrgovic’s projected bout with Daniel Dubois. That bout is expected to be for the IBF world title which will be stripped from Fury or Usyk if they push ahead with their plan for a rematch.
That would leave Joshua with the chance to become a three-time champion in front of a home crowd before the end of the year. “Around September is when I’ve been told,” he added. “I was hoping June. I’ve got some time to go on dates now and mingle a little bit. I’m training at the minute, I’ve got two months before I come into training camp.
“I think what they’re saying is be patient because you’ve got Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for all the belts and then once that’s done hopefully I can kick down the door and get my opportunity.”
