Why Did Anthony Joshua Deny Predicting Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3?

Published 09/11/2021, 7:00 AM EDT

Anthony Joshua can soon land up against either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder. That is, if he surpasses Oleksandr Usyk on September 25 and retains all his world heavyweight titles. However, ‘AJ’ still didn’t seem interested in focusing on Fury vs Wilder 3. Instead, he is solely focused on his own fight and has claimed to be fine with facing any of the two WBC title contenders.

While Joshua was initially scheduled to face Tyson Fury in August, Deontay Wilder’s sudden intervention to earn a shot at the WBC belt left ‘AJ’ out of the tale. That said, Joshua recently sat with IFL TV and shared his views on several issues. When asked to predict Fury vs Wilder 3, he said, “Do I really have to speak on it, do I have to speak on it Kugan?”

“Let’s leave it. I am not really. Whichever one wins. Do people want to see me fight the winner? Or do they to see me fight Fury? I am happy either way.”

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Being one of the biggest heavyweight boxers of the time, Joshua was rumored to battle Wilder and Fury for a long time. Unfortunately, their paths never crossed. Hence, it all comes down to the two fights, that are scheduled for September 25 and October 9. Following the nearing title collisions, the heavyweight division can finally see two of their best compete for all four world titles.

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Can Anthony Joshua enter the unification fight talks?

Despite having an undefeated Oleksandr Usyk in his way, Joshua is the favorite against his Ukrainian opposition. He is a bigger fighter with several advantages to his side. Thus, Anthony Joshua can rightly be the first man to beat Usyk.

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If he does so, he is guaranteed to fight either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder and ply his trade against a fellow heavyweight world champion.

However, if Usyk lands a shocking win, there’s no way Joshua will be part of the undisputed belt talks in the near future. Hence, ‘AJ’s next fight will be crucial to him being part of the undisputed bout discussions. His refusal to predict Fury-Wilder 3 is a sign of how seriously he is taking his own title defense.

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If he leaves London with his belt, he can relax and wait for Fury and Wilder to conclude their feud and even scout them to devise a plan.

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Written by:

A senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports, Raj Sarkar is a mass media graduate who is currently pursuing his master’s degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to his current role, he has worked with the MMA team at EssentiallySports and has interviewed prominent fighters such as Ritu Phogat and 'The Red King' Rory MacDonald. He combined his bachelor's degree with his adoration for combat sports and has a combined 2000 plus bylines in MMA and boxing over the last two years.

Why Did Anthony Joshua Deny Predicting Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3?

Can Anthony Joshua enter the unification fight talks?

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