ANTHONY JOSHUA hopes his domestic heavyweight rival Tyson Fury soon makes “headlines for the right reasons again”. Fury last night relinquished his WBA and WBO heavyweight titles so he can focus on getting over the problems that have kept him out of the ring since he dethroned Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015.

Speaking to Boxing News, IBF champion Joshua – who could now take on Klitschko in December – exhibited nothing but respect for the plight of Fury, which include severe depression and substance abuse.

“Each to their own – it doesn’t affect me directly what Tyson Fury is up to,” Joshua said when asked his reaction to the issues Tyson is attempting to deal with.

“I’m not one of these people who say, ‘He shouldn’t have done that or he should do that.’ Everyone goes through their own problems, everyone has their own situations that they’re in.

“You heard what I said, I hope he gets better, I hope comes back to doing what he does best, what he’s good at, and that’s fighting. Start making headlines for the right reasons again, and that’s really all I have to say on the subject.”

The full in-depth interview with Joshua will be published in the upcoming Boxing News Annual 2017, available to buy in November, and will also feature exclusive interviews with Sugar Ray Leonard, Carl Frampton and Ricky Hatton.