Tyson Fury is ready to forgive Anthony Joshua for being knocked out by Daniel Dubois - for the sake of £150million.
Joshua was favoured to beat Dubois at Wembley in September but was instead dropped four times and blasted out inside five rounds. Fury cursed his beaten rival from his ringside seat, accusing Joshua of costing him an eye-watering nine-figure sum. Joshua looked set to further jeopardise hopes his decade-long feud with Fury would finally be settled when he demanded a high-risk rematch with Dubois.
But the Olympic champion ultimately played it safe and has opted to instead await the outcome of Fury’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night. Fury was beaten by the Ukrainian in May as he lost his world title and the chance to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. Should the Brit win back his crown, there will be a clamour for a history-defining trilogy fight with the two-weight ruler next year.
But Fury is more tempted by what he views is an easier night’s work against fellow two-time champion Joshua, a clash which came closest to happening in 2021 before Fury was instead ordered to face Deontay Wilder for a third time. And ahead of the fourth rematch of his professional career, Fury said: “I don’t want to work for f*** all. I want as much as I can get. I want the easiest fights possible for the largest amounts of money possible.
“I don’t want the toughest fights possible for the least amount of money. I wasn’t born in a Christmas cracker. I meant what I said about Joshua costing me £150m. We would have had a two-fight deal lined up for a s*** tonne of money. Unfortunately, doors open, doors close; that’s what it is. But it doesn’t… here’s the thing I said the other day; what does it matter if you’ve been knocked out twice or whatever, four, five times, or six or seven? What does it matter? Does it really matter if he has another loss or not? It doesn’t matter, it’s still a great fight.”
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to lock horns again on December 21 with the Brit attempting to avenge his defeat by the Ukrainian in May. Victory for Fury could also set up a huge domestic showdown with bitter rival Anthony Joshua next year
Fury could face Joshua even if he follows his countryman in losing to Usyk for a second time this weekend. Joshua is expected to return to the ring in May which could see a meeting with Fury held in the UK rather than in Saudi Arabia.Such a ‘battle of the losers’ would still earn both fighters staggering purses even if there was no world title on the line.
And Fury, who will split a £150m pot with Usyk, admitted lining his pockets is his only remaining motivation. “I don’t care about my legacy,” he added. “Legacy is my kids. One thing I do care about is my family, my kids and providing for them, looking after them; that’s it. “I’m only doing it for the money, obviously. All prizefighters, if they tell the truth, do it for the money, don’t they? Who here is not doing it for the money?”