Anthony Joshua took to Instagram today to put pressure on Tyson Fury to meet him in the ring. That’s a fight that the two-time heavyweight champion Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, have been pushing hard for in the last year.
Joshua’s Instagram Pressure
Thus far, ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) has resisted the pressure and understandably so. He’s lost his last two fights to Oleksandr Usyk, and his confidence level has got to be at a career low.
Fury, 37, recently reaffirmed his decision to remain retired, saying to Sky Sports that he’d seen “gray” in his beard. It’s going to require a change of attitude for Fury to want to return to the ring to take on Joshua. The underlying message here is that Fury appears to be raked by self-doubt after his back-to-back losses to Usyk, and he doesn’t want AJ to finish him off. That’s the way I see it.
“I’m proud of Joseph Parker. Even though he is a competitor, real recognises real. He’s in the game to fight whoever, whenever, and that’s the DNA of a real general, unlike his dippy mate, Tyson Fury,” said Anthony Joshua on Instagram today. “I would dissect his career record in minutes, but I’ll leave that for a potential gloves are off if he ever comes back and fights ‘Big Femi.'”
It doesn’t look good for what Hearn calls ‘The Battle of Britain’ fight between Joshua and Fury. ‘The Gypsy King’ has made no mention of coming out of retirement to fight AJ. He’s only mentioned wanting to avenge his two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, which he still stubbornly insists were unjust decisions.
The Financial Lure
Fury’s net worth is estimated between $160 million and $200 million. The lure of a payday as high as $100 million to fight Joshua might not be enough for him to take the risk of potentially being embarrassed by getting knocked out in front of his fans.
The Problem with Being Too Rich
If he were still down and out, not one of the nouveau riche class, he’d take the fight with Joshua. The basic problem, I believe, is that Fury is too rich.
“Fabio Wardley, respect to you as well. Bro was working in recruitment, helping your dad get a job a couple of years ago. Let that be a testament to God rooting in one’s favour and a statement to show that nothing is impossible (if you can have a scrap, haha ),” said Joshua.
WBA interim heavyweight champion Wardley (19-0-1, 18 KOs) has a big fight coming up against WBO interim champion Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) next month on October 25 at the O2 Arena in London, England. The event will be shown live on DAZN PPV.
There’s a possibility that the winner of the fight could be elevated to world champion status if undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk chooses not to defend those belts.
Ideally, Usyk will return from his injury break to face the victor of the contest, but it’s questionable, given the likely pay cut that he’d be taking from his last two lucrative fights against Fury.
A Return to the Ring
“To my supporters, I’ll be back to lace up my boots and put on my gloves sooner than later, hopefully punching Fury’s head in and dancing around his flicker jab with ease,” said Joshua.
Hearn is hopeful for a fight between Joshua and Jake Paul in early 2026, viewing it as a career-high payday for AJ if it happens. That could depend on whether Paul defeats Gervonta Davis in their fight on November 14, 2025, at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
A loss for Jake against the much smaller Tank Davis would sap much of the interest from fans in seeing a Joshua-Paul fight in 2026.