David Price suspects one fighter has regressed more than the other as Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua inch closer towards their long-awaited showdown.
While an official announcement is yet to emerge, the pair are nonetheless expected to lock horns in November, as per the terms of Joshua’s proposed two-fight contract.
This deal was offered by Turki Alalshikh ahead of Fury’s comeback fight, which saw ‘The Gypsy King’ unanimously outpoint Arslanbek Makhmudov earlier this month.
For Joshua, though, it appears there are still several I’s to dot and T’s to cross before he agrees to enter a comeback fight of his own.
Following the tragic car crash that took the lives of his two close friends in December, ‘AJ’ has not fought since engineering a sixth-round finish against Jake Paul that same month.
As a result, the 36-year-old is due to enter a warm-up fight in July, by which time he is expected to have fully healed from the physical injuries he sustained in Nigeria.
According to Olympic bronze medallist Price, however, there is a chance that Joshua has not completely recovered from his fifth-round stoppage defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
Speaking with Pro Boxing Fans, Price explained that this could put the Londoner in a vulnerable position against Fury, whose last elite-level contest saw him lose a unanimous decision to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024.
“Anthony Joshua’s getting older as well, and he doesn’t look as good as he once did, so it depends who’s [regressed] more than the other.
“I think Joshua has, because he’s been knocked out by Daniel Dubois. That takes more out of you than Tyson Fury losing on points to Oleksandr Usyk in a really close fight.
“I think Joshua’s a little bit more damaged but, that being said, that kind of thing doesn’t really affect Anthony Joshua, because he’s [mentally] strong. But I do think he’s on the slide a bit more than Tyson Fury.”
Having previously defeated Fury in the amateurs and dropped Joshua in sparring, Price certainly knows a thing or two about the two heavyweight stars.
