BOXING
Joshua sets sights on Fury
After his painful defeat to Daniel Dubois, AJ wants a rematch with Tyson Fury.
“In 2025 my goal is Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24 KO),” announced Anthony Joshua (28-4-0, 25 KO) during a trip to meet Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. AJ is coming off a painful defeat to Daniel Dubois (22-2-0, 21 KO) and wants to find his way again. To do so, he believes the best option is by taking on his compatriot, who recently suffered a setback of his own, falling to Oleksandr Usyk (23-0-0, 14 KO) in Riyadh.
It looked like Dubois had finished Joshua off, but the Briton got up. It was five rounds of punches and knockdowns in which it seemed that AJ would say goodbye to boxing for good. It wasn’t to be. He’s aiming for 2025 with big fights and himself as the protagonist. “I should have won, but I didn’t, and I’m going to try again. My life is full of ups and downs, so I have to get used to turbulent times and keep riding the wave. I can’t stop now. I have to keep going until I reach my destination,” the Englishman explained.
Joshua lost both of his bouts with Usyk
The former heavyweight champion will look to another former monarch to give this rise again. The division is very monopolized. Usyk is the owner of three of the belts (WBA, WBC and WBO), while Dubois has the IBF. The Briton has already demanded a rematch with the Ukrainian to unify all the belts again. That’s the idea. “When I look back, I think I could have done more in 2024. I have another opportunity in 2025 to do more and I will make sure I take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way,” explained AJ.
But there is a long way to go from saying to doing, and Riyadh is very keen on heavyweight fights with big names. The Fury-Joshua clash has been in the works for a long time. It may be late now, but the interest in two of the most famous boxers will always be there. The winner of the match could once again gain a prime position to challenge for the belts again.
“I’m hungry, it makes me want to work harder. Time is of the essence, time is limited, so I just want to push myself harder,” he concluded. The idea is on the table.