Joshua: I’ve signed to fight Fury
ANTHONY Joshua is “100 per cent” convinced his showdown against Manchester’s Tyson Fury will happen this year.
A two-fight deal between Joshua, the WBA, IBF and WBO champion, and Fury, who holds the WBC crown, has already been agreed but locations and dates are still being worked on.
Saudi Arabia is the frontrunner to stage the blockbuster.
Fury said earlier this week there are other offers to consider but Joshua revealed
he has already put pen to paper for the contest and is awaiting a response from his rival. Joshua said: “I’ve signed my side of the deal. We’ve sent (Tyson) a good offer, one I’m sure he won’t refuse.
“He wants the fight, no doubt about it. So do I and more than me and him, the whole public want it. I put my crystal ball out there and I say it’s going to happen this year 100 per cent. End of July, early August.
“Where? That’s what’s (causing) the delay, because of this pandemic. We want to have people coming to the venue. It’s just finding the right location. For me, Wembley would be ideal.”
Joshua, who believes he has ‘five to six years left’ of a professional career that has so far yielded 24 wins and a single defeat in 25 fights, praised the unbeaten Fury for shining a light on mental health in recent years. Joshua said: “It’s tough for someone to go through that mental pressure and pull themselves back up. A lot of people are suffering in this world. He’s put it out to the world, ‘this is what I’ve gone through, if I’m a boxer, heavyweight champion of the world, hard man, if I can go through it...’. It gives people hope. I respect it.”