Fury responds to Joshua call-out – Let us give the world what it wants

Tyson Fury believes a fight between himself and Anthony Joshua is what “the world wants to see” after the heavyweight champion hinted he would take on his fellow Briton.

Joshua holds the IBF and WBA belts after beating Wladimir Klitschko to extend his record to 19 wins from 19 bouts – all of which have come via knockout – and he is awaiting a possible rematch with the veteran.

Fury, meanwhile, has not fought since triumphing over Klitschko in November 2015 and is working his way back to fitness, though he has yet to regain his boxing license after stepping away from the sport amid reported mental health issues.

Joshua suggested he would seek to fight the former champion after a rematch with Klitschko and Fury (25-0) is also keen to make the fight happen.

“People do want to see the fight between me and you, AJ,” 28-year-old Fury said in a video posted on Instagram. “The world wants to see it because I am still the lineal heavyweight champion and everybody knows that.

“I walked away from boxing because I wasn’t interested – there were no challengers there. I beat the best man there was. But now it seems that I’ve been out two years and there are a few more challengers.

“People think that you can beat me. I don’t think you can, personally. Let me get my situation on track, get fit and then I’ll fight you. May the best man win.”

However, promoter Eddie Hearn has warned that a fight between the pair is “miles away”, with mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev and WBC champion Deontay Wilder touted as other potential opponents for Joshua.

I woke up this morning with my Swagg On.#DeontayWilder #BombZquad #MostPrestigious #WBCHeavyWeightChampionOfTheWorld pic.twitter.com/cbJb24QVfx

— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) June 6, 2017

Fury was responding to a Joshua interview in which the 27-year-old said his goal was to hold all four heavyweight belts at the same time.

“I listen to what people want. Tyson makes a lot of noise and he’s made it clear that he wants to fight me,” Joshua told Sky Sports.

“Now, I’m in a position that I can say: ‘Tyson when you’re back, I’m interested, so let’s live up to what people want to see us do.’ That’s why he’s top of my list. In the UK, Tyson Fury. Internationally, my pick would be Wilder. I’ve built a relationship with the United States.

“You can never set your standards too low, let’s aim high. I will state today that [holding all four belts] is very possible.”