BELT UP TYSON
Joshua laughs off Fury’s No.1 claim
ANTHONY JOSHUA has scoffed at Tyson Fury’s claims that he is the world’s best heavyweight, insisting he is the real No.1. The unbeaten Joshua holds the WBA Super, IBF and WBO belts and says he took over as No.1 during Fury’s three
years out of the ring. Fury claims he is the ‘lineal champion’ as the last holder of the Ring magazine belt (in boxing the lineal champion is best described as “the man who beat the man”).
But Joshua, who faces Alexander Povetkin at Wembley on Saturday week, said: “You’ve got to have a bit of respect. That championship belt ain’t just about fighting. You can’t expect the whole division to go on hold. He (Fury) had his issues and paused for three years. The whole division can’t wait and sit down. Charles Martin called me out when he won the IBF title. He wanted to fight me. So I fought. Wladimir Klitschko wanted to fight, so I fought.
“Good luck to Fury. But when all’s said and done, I won’t be that geezer in the pub telling war stories about how ‘I was the lineal champ’.”