Fury Challenges Joshua To ‘Battle of Britain’ Fight Later This Year

Tyson Fury appears to have extended his most direct invitation to Anthony Joshua for a super fight.

In an “open letter” posted to his social media on Monday, Fury, the WBC heavyweight from Manchester, England, has addressed compatriot Joshua for a British mega-fight later this year.

Joshua, 32, of London, is coming off a tough split decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk in their 12-round heavyweight title unification fight last month in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Subsequently, there was a public call for Usyk to face Fury in an undisputed heavyweight fight next, but the two seem deadlocked regarding the timeline for the fight; Fury is eager to fight by the end of the year, while Usyk recently said he wouldn’t be interested until early next year. Usyk’s response prompted Fury to denigrate the Ukrainian on social media.

Fury has now apparently turned into a fight with Joshua, the problem being that Joshua needs to be ready to fight “within the next few months”. Fury pointed out that Joshua just participated in a 12-round fight, which means he should be in pretty good shape to get back in the ring relatively soon.

Furthermore, Joshua himself and his promoter Eddie Hearn have insisted that Joshua will return to the ring in December or early next year, in a bid to “rebuild” his career. Fury is promoted by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions in the UK and Bob Arum’s Top Rank in the US.

“I think everyone has heard that I am going to be fighting soon in the next couple of months,” Fury said in a video posted on his social media. “I think before announcing an opponent I need to do this. just in case.

“Anthony Joshua, I know you just lost a fight with Usyk and you have no fights at the moment, and I would like to give you the opportunity to fight me for the WBC heavyweight world championship and lineal title.” championship in the coming months.

“If you are interested, I will send you the date and we can fight. A Battle of Great Britain for the WBC World Heavyweight Championship.

“Let me know if you’re interested, if not, I’ll select another opponent.”