TAO’S UNLUCKY 13
ANTHONY JOSHUA knows he will live to regret it if he does not fight Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.
The WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion (right) defends his titles against Andy Ruiz Jr a week today at Madison Square Garden in New York.
But all the focus remains on if and when Joshua faces WBC champion Wilder or fellow Brit Fury (below, right).
Asked if he would have regrets if those fights never happen, the unbeaten 29-year-old said: “Yep. Massively – massive regret.
“If the fights happened then I would be able to finish boxing with a smile on my face.
“I’d be happy to fight Wilder, Fury, Luis Ortiz, then I’ve done Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, Joseph Parker and can add Wilder, Fury to that.”
Wilder (below, left) called out Joshua again last week after the American sparked out Dominic Breazeale in the first round of his latest WBC title defence.
The American is expected to have a rematch with Ortiz, who turned down £5million to face Joshua next week, if he cannot strike a deal to face Joshua or Fury next.
“He said he wanted to fight me for so long,” said Joshua.
“So now unless he does, I’m looking at it as a PR campaign to build his name off my back.
“If you’re a representative of Pepsi and I represent Coke, I’m going to say anything negative about Pepsi to boost my profile and that is what he does.
“I don’t think he will fight me next because I’m hearing Ortiz turned down our offer because he has something in the pipeline to fight Wilder.
“I’m an honest guy. If I didn’t want to fight Wilder then I’d say I’m not ready to fight Wilder yet.”
Joshua is in Miami finishing off his preparations for his US pro debut and will fly to New York tomorrow.
The Brit is expected to coast past Ruiz, whose only career defeat in 33 fights came against Parker for the WBO title in 2016.
Joshua added: “I know this win leaves the road wide open to go down the road to undisputed.
“I can’t afford to leave anything to chance. I like Ruiz, he’s a good fighter.”
CYCLING GIRO D’ITALIA BRITISH star Tao Geoghegan Hart crashed out of the Giro D’italia yesterday.
Team Ineos racer Hart hit the deck on the descent of the Colle del Lys on stage 13. He was forced to abandon, but his team later said he was not seriously hurt.
Fellow Ineos star Chris Froome, who has missed this year’s Giro, watched Russia’s Ilnur Zakarin claim the stage victory on an ipad strapped to his handle bars during a seven-hour training ride. Jan Polanc retained the race leader’s Pink Jersey.