Joshua warns he'll fight Usyk if Fury rejects 'serious offer'

Joshua, the WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF heavyweight champion, did not call out Fury's name after his knockout victory over Kubrat Pulev this month and says he is interested in the fight taking place not the endless talk about it.

"If this is the fight that people want to see - whether it's in the UK, in Saudi Arabia or Africa - I just hope the fight gets done." Joshua said. "I put too much energy into this stuff. I just want to fight. I'm not about talking and creating false narratives.

"I promise you this: I will put in a serious offer to fight Tyson Fury and if he's serious himself, he will take it. If he's not I will fight [Oleksandr] Usyk and leave it there."

Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, has suggested that it could happen in late May and abroad deal, agreeing a two-fight deal with each boxer being paid 50 percent of takings for the first fight.

Joshua, said his management company, 258 Management, had reached out to Fury's team and he said he was glad at Hearn's suggestion that there should be no obstacles to the fight happening.

"I'm serious about the fight so when I announce it you'll know it's real," Joshua said. "That's why I'm taking my time - because there has been a lot of back-and-forth for years. I've been chasing this round to undisputed and when the time is right, I'll announce it and I'll have my mind fully focused on the job at hand.

"After the Pulev fight, I didn't want to do any interviews. Less talk and more action. I stood by that. I want to just get in there and fight. I want to be walk out and be known as someone who is a true warrior to this sport.

"I've fought many champions before so it's obvious to see we've done business with world champions before. It's no different with Fury, he should take this fight with both hands. It's a split down the middle, there's no one benefitting apart from the fans at the end of the day. I believe I'll win.

"258 Management are reaching out to MTK Global and Frank Warren, Tyson Fury's management team, and it's just so we can start having conversations about the logistics and exactly what it will take to make this fight happen.

Joshua's motivation for the fight is, he says, a need to do the best fight for the fans, he said.

"I feel like the cries from the public are just for me to fight Tyson Fury," Joshua said. "I am the sort of guy who will let my team just put a social media poll and whatever the fans vote, I will do.

"There is nothing more in it than me wanting to compete against the best. If that is Tyson Fury, then fine. If they want me to fight Usyk, and get him out of the way, then fine. I believe I will beat Usyk and then Tyson Fury can happen at the end of the year.

"Either way, I am just doing my next couple of fights next year on what the public wants me to do."Meanwhile, the irrepressible Fury took to social media this week to share his preparations, posting footage of himself training in the dark.

"I was born in the dark. I train alone, because no one's going to help me when I'm in there fighting for my life," Fury warned.
The 6ft 9in star boasts a record of 30 wins and one draw from his 31 fights, while Joshua's only blemish in his 25 fights was a shock defeat to Ruiz Jr in New York in June of 2019.