Fury ‘wounded’ by Joshua’s loss but focused for now on third Wilder bout

Tyson Fury says he was "absolutely wounded" by Anthony Joshua being defeated by Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua lost his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles as Ukraine's Usyk secured a unanimous decision win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.

Earlier this year it appeared Joshua was set for an all-British showdown with Fury, the WBC champion, before a court ruling in May saw the latter ordered to have a third bout against Deontay Wilder.

That contest, which had to be rearranged from July after Fury tested positive for coronavirus, is set to take place in Las Vegas on October 9th.

Regarding the Joshua-Usyk bout, Fury told a press conference: “Did I watch the fight? Yes I did. Was I absolutely wounded that he won? Yes I was. I was hoping Joshua could win the fight, but he couldn’t – and that’s none of my business.

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“The only thing I’m bothered about is beating Deontay Wilder, and that’s the most dangerous heavyweight out there. In my opinion, Wilder beats Joshua, Usyk, all the rest of the division, comfortable – but he cannot beat me.”

Fury also said with regard to Joshua that he had “no interest in slating anybody or kicking anybody while they are down”, adding: “It ain’t my style. I like to pick on someone who is doing well, successful, on top of the game – I don’t like picking on people who are down and probably at their lowest point and probably mentally unstable and unwell with a big loss after such a long reign.

“Usyk did his job, he had to do what he had to do, and that’s that, and Joshua has got to do what he has got to do.”

Unbeaten Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), who fought out a controversial draw with Wilder in Los Angeles in December 2018 before beating the American with a seventh-round knockout in Las Vegas in February 2020, has no preference on whether he would rather face Joshua or Usyk after Wilder, saying: “I don’t care about anybody else – they are not on my radar, only the ‘Bronze Bomber’, aka the big dosser.

“After him, we will talk, the promoters will do their job, and I will always do mine. Never worry about the ‘Gypsy King’ fulfilling his end of a bargain – I will always fu**ing fight until there’s not a fight left in me. You just worry about the other people doing their end of the bargain.”

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Fury vowed to “splash Wilder to bits” and said he was feeling “a million per cent”, adding: “I’m in fantastic shape, fit as a fiddle. I’m absolutely ready, today, tomorrow and forever. I’ll always be ready and I’ll never make excuses.

“When I beat Wilder, I’ll be on to the next one, so on and so forth. It’s never about the opponent. It’s the Tyson Fury show until I hang those gloves up. Until that day, it’s all about me, and the roadshow continues. All these years, 2008 to 2021 and I’m still undefeated.

“There ain’t a man out there born from his mother that can stop me or beat me. I haven’t seen one yet anyway. Maybe he’s not born, or maybe he is but he hasn’t got the guts to come and fight me.”

Meanwhile, Joshua said yesterday he knew where he went wrong in losing to Usyk and had learned his lesson.

“I’ve watched the fight, analysed my preparations & identified my mistakes. I’ve learnt my lesson,” Joshua posted on Instagram .

“Dont worry about me. My spirit is strong!”

A rematch is expected in February or March, with a possible world heavyweight unification fight between Joshua and compatriot Fury, the WBC champion, now thrown into uncertainty.

– Guardian