Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua excites me more than ever and Fury has the edge, says Johnny Nelson

This fight excites me more than it ever has, and I think Tyson Fury has the edge.

Listen, I’m an AJ fan, but it comes down to what we saw this weekend.

The shots that caught Joshua on Saturday, that sneaky little uppercut on the inside, the one that caught him again, those are natural shots for Tyson Fury.

Heart, determination, desire and want, I put all of that in Joshua’s corner. But on Saturday’s performance, and on Friday’s, it’s Fury for me.

And believe me, it takes something for me to say that, because if I’m honest with you, I never thought we’d see Anthony Joshua in the ring again.

I thought it would take him so long to get over what happened emotionally, mentally, spiritually. I think being in the ring, being in the gym training, is probably what has kept him on the path of trying to get himself right again.

Watching him on Saturday, you could still see it bubbling over the top, still see a guy struggling to come to terms with something most people will never experience. It put a lump in my throat.

Just to get in the ring alone was an amazing feat and hats off to him for that.

Then the first round happened, and I thought what most people thought, “he’s gone, his punch resistance has gone”.

But then it was a case of “Oh my goodness, this fight is going to be so exciting”.

He was hit, he was hurt, he looked vulnerable. Nigel Benn looked vulnerable too and he was a dangerous fighter every time he got in a ring.

Joshua is not the fighter he was, but that vulnerability is exactly what will make the Fury fight such compelling viewing.

Are both fighters ready to face each other?

The risk is clear if they don’t fight each other soon; look at Saturday night. So it has to be their next fight.

Prenga has a knockout record – he can hit and he can hurt – but he shouldn’t have been in Anthony Joshua’s league, point blank.

There’s a word for AJ, though… mercurial.

He has so much talent but it’s a case of which version of Anthony Joshua turns up.

The talented fighter we know wasn’t there in Jeddah. The guts and the heart were, because after 20 seconds he was down and had to get back up again.

But he was still making rookie mistakes, and you just shouldn’t be making those mistakes at this stage of your career.

You’ve got to give him a pass, though, because remember what he’s coming from.

Boxing for him isn’t about the money. I think it’s about creating some kind of stability inside himself.

They were boys when this started and they’re men now. They’ve had the losses and they’ve had the highs, and they need each other to bring the best out of each other.

That’s why, even with both men past their best, it’s even more exciting now.

The fight won’t begin when the first bell goes. It begins in the build-up, in the gamesmanship, in how one fighter gets into the head of the other.

Where should the fight take place?

Of course it has to take place in the UK, I just don’t think it will.

They can make as much noise as they want, and we want it here. I think this is going stateside because that’s where the audience is and that’s where the paymaster realistically wants it as well.

Imagine being a fan in November at Wembley, up in the tier seats, freezing cold, waiting for a 2am first bell. I understand historically it should be here but I personally think it’ll end up in America.

Either way, this fight is five years behind. We’ve always wanted to see it, so whatever we get from both fighters, we’re going to make the most of it.

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