Tyson Fury is “asking” to fight again this year before taking on Anthony Joshua, according to the “Gypsy King”’s promoter Frank Warren.
It was announced this week that Fury and Joshua have signed a contract to fight one another, and while the date and location of their long-awaited clash is unknown, it is expected to take place in the UK in autumn – potentially in November.
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“AJ” will first box Kristian Prenga in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 25 July, and it seems Fury could follow suit.
Tyson Fury ahead of his win over Arslanbek Makhmudov (PA Wire)
When asked whether Fury will wait until this autumn to compete again, Warren told outlets including The Independent: “I think he will probably want to be doing something in between. Let’s see.
“AJ has got his fight. Tyson I’m quite sure will have a fight in between. That’s what he’s asking for, and we’ll see where we go from there.”
It followed a similar comment from Fury’s manager Spencer Brown, who said this week: “The thing is, Tyson was out of the ring for two years, just jumped back in. We’ll probably want another fight before the AJ fight – a proper warm-up fight – and then we’re all ready to go, ready to rock and roll.
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“But it will be nice for Tyson to have one more fight before we step in. Anthony wants one more fight, so if it’s in July, we won’t be able to do anything ‘til October, November, December. So, [a warm-up fight] is going to have to happen quite rapidly.”
Fury, 37, fought as recently as 11 April, outpointing Arslanbek Makhmudov with ease, 16 months after his previous outing. The win marked Fury’s fifth time coming out of retirement.
Joshua, 36, was ringside for that contest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though he refused to enter the ring for a post-fight face-off with Fury, hinting that he would wait until the Britons had officially signed a bout agreement.
Fury trading words with Anthony Joshua after beating Makhmudov (Getty)
That contract was signed this week, and it brought the news that Joshua would first box Prenga, a relative unknown. The Albanian is 35 and has a 20-1 (20 KOs) record, though he has faced no one of note.
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Still, Joshua vs Prenga was viewed as the final hurdle on the road to Joshua vs Fury, a battle of former heavyweight champions that has been discussed for almost a decade. It was even signed in 2021, only for Deontay Wilder to threaten legal action and force a trilogy fight with Fury, who went on to knock out the American for the second time.
Yet Fury’s desire to box again before facing Joshua could be seen as yet another hurdle. While AJ is expected to comfortably beat Prenga, and while any opponent to Fury would surely pose very few real risks, the greater concern is either Briton sustaining an injury.
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