Tyson Fury has made light of the odds of a heavyweight unification confrontation against Anthony Joshua this year, guaranteeing no advancement has been made in fixing the battle.
Joshua beat Bulgarian KubratPulev in December to hold his International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association titles and set up the possibility of a mouth-watering conflict with individual Briton Fury, the World Boxing Council belt holder.
However in spite of Joshua’s director Eddie Hearn saying in January that an arrangement was practically done, Fury says the battle was no nearer to being masterminded than it was a year prior.
“They’ve had a full year to try and make this fight happen. It is what it is. We’re no further forward today than we were a year ago,” Fury told ESPN on Wednesday (Feb 24).
“The way it is at the moment (with Covid-19), I don’t think it has got much to do with the fighters.
“It’s to do with the venue, date, place, site fees. It’s to do with everything but the fight itself.”
Wrath, 32, who has not battled for a year since his knockout success against American Deontay Wilder, didn’t totally preclude a conflict with Joshua in the late spring, yet says he will battle double this year whether or not that occurs.
“If that fight doesn’t happen this summer, it’s got to happen sooner or later,” Fury said. “But Top Rank has to give me two fights this year. I will fight two times on (Top Rank network partner) ESPN. I don’t care who it is.
“If it’s not Joshua, we’re looking to fight in April or early May, and the end of the year. If it’s Joshua, then June and the end of the year. Bang, bang. So, 2021 is looking bright.”