IT’S hard to think Tyson Fury will ever be the forgotten man of the heavyweight division. The former champion may not fought since his 2015 points victory over Wladimir Klitschko but he has consistently made headlines, from the saga of overturning his ban from UKAD to his brash pronouncements on social media.
But the heavyweight division is gradually moving on. Anthony Joshua is rapidly becoming one of the biggest stars in sport. After he beat Joseph Parker at the Principality stadium in Cardiff, in front of almost 80,000 supporters, Joshua is now the unified WBO, IBF and WBA world champion. He now possesses all three of the titles Fury once held.
Tyson ought to be desperate to fit into the mix. He remains a name in the division and his own best self publicist. After the Joshua-Parker fight, Fury declared, “There can only be one. I’m the true king and think people seen that tonight.”
Fury also gave a harsh appraisal of the unification clash. “That was a s*** fight and a s*** performance by both fighters. Listen AJ, please don’t fight [Deontay] Wilder because he’ll knock you spark out and take my £50 million. Let me break you in, you little bum,” Fury said.
But Fury has struck on his problem. Regardless of how he thinks Wilder would fare against Joshua, the American is ahead of him now. After Joshua beat Klitschko in last year’s epic battle, the unified heavyweight champion called out Tyson Fury. Now the world is clamouring for another fight. Joshua versus WBC titlist Deontay Wilder for all four major heavyweight titles is the fight we want to see.
Of course, Joshua versus anyone is a big event, whether that’s David Haye winning his rematch against Tony Bellew, a Dillian Whyte rematch or even Jarrell Miller in America. Joshua-Fury, of course, is still a huge occasion. But it’s now not as relevant as the Wilder fight for Joshua. Fury desperately needs to get himself fighting fit and get active again so he can get himself back in the running once more.
Fury just needs to fight.
