Tyson Fury has urged Anthony Joshua to resist being diverted by a potential Deontay Wilder fight and stay on course for their blockbuster showdown.
Former world champions Fury and Joshua have a long-running rivalry but are still yet to meet in an all-British heavyweight clash.
Fury is adamant their mega-fight can wait no longer.
Speaking of AJ, Fury said: “I don’t think he should have [a tune up bout]. I think we should get this fight on as soon as possible, in case something happens in between.
“So many times that fight was supposed to happen over the last 10 years. [But they thought:] ‘We’ll just have one more fight in between, we’ll just have another one’… Something goes wrong or injured or whatever.”
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Tyson Fury is determined to fight his domestic rival Anthony Joshua before he retires
Joshua boxed in December, an unlikely match up with YouTuber turned prizefighter Jake Paul, while Fury is fighting on Saturday in a comeback bout against Arslanbek Makhmudov.
“You’ve had the warm-up fight in December and I’m having one here now. I’ve been out of the ring longer than he has, 16 months out of the ring. Let’s do it, let’s dance,” Fury declared.
“Forget Wilder, the man’s a shell of himself, it’s sad to see, forget anybody else. Let me get through Saturday night and we’ll do the fight this year. I can’t say fairer than that. Forget everybody else.”
He added: “The problem is, in heavyweight boxing, anything can go wrong, there are no easy fights. They’re all hard and if you get knocked upside down then it’s finished, it’s gone.”
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Highlights from the heavyweight bout between Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora. Chisora vs Wilder is available to watch globally, exclusively on DAZN
Joshua did watch Wilder defeat Derek Chisora at the O2 last weekend, but Fury doesn’t know if AJ will be in attendance for his fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
“If the man comes fair play, if he doesn’t, I understand. It is what it is. Everyone in life does what they have to for them,” Fury said.
“They don’t do it for other people, they do it for themselves, especially in business. If he comes he comes, if doesn’t he doesn’t. No skin off my nose who turns up.
“I want the fight next and I’m sure that AJ will feel the same. But most of all, I’ve got Arslanbek to deal with and then we’ll sort all that out afterwards. Ifs, buts and maybes, who knows?”
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