After a number of unsuccessful negotiations, Anthony Joshua still holds out hope that he will fight Tyson Fury one day.
The pair looked set to face off on December 3 after Joshua agreed to all of Fury’s terms regarding date, venue and purse split.
However, after the contracts were exchanged, delays in signing and frustrations on both sides caused negotiations to fail.
Instead, Fury decided to take on veteran heavyweight Derek Chisora in a trilogy bout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Fury won the first two fights between the two, earning a unanimous decision victory in 2011, then he followed that up by stopping Chisora in their rematch in 2014.
After facing Chisora, Fury intends to put his WBC world title on the line against unified WBA, WBO and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed bout next year.
Despite these hurdles, Joshua still believes he will fight Fury at some point, as when asked if he had given up hope of the clash, he told IFL TV: “In my heart, no. .
“If you listen to what [Fury] said, it’s up and down, but I’m sure he’ll fight me.
“I don’t think his father [John Fury] won’t let him fight me. His father is a good guy. I love his father.”
Joshua was then asked if the fight could take place in 2023, and he replied: “Yes, him or [Deontay] Wilder…or both.
That being said, Joshua also admitted that neither man would be easy to hit, as he said, ‘both will be a hard night’s work’.
When you also consider that Fury recently said it would be “a travesty of absolute death” if he didn’t fight Joshua before retiring, it seems boxing fans should hold out hope for “The Battle of ‘England’ at some point in the future.
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