Anthony Joshua says Tyson Fury’s dad John will make sure rivals fight as heavyweight star holds out hope for 2023 bout
ANTHONY JOSHUA is confident John Fury will not let his son walk away from boxing without the pair finally fighting.
The heavyweight rivals have tried but failed to agree terms in the past for a Battle of Britain, most recently for December 3 in Wales.
But AJ is hoping Fury's no-nonsense father John will be the man to help finally get the fight over the line before they both retire.
Joshua told "If you listen to what he says, it's up and down. But I'm sure he'll fight me.
"I don't think his dad will let him not fight me. His dad's a proper guy. I like his dad."
Joshua, 33, is coming off consecutive points losses to Oleksandr Usyk, 35, which set the Ukrainian up for a unification bout.
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But Usyk had ruled himself out until next year, which led to Fury, 34, calling out AJ to fight next month in Cardiff.
Eventually, negotiations collapsed and the WBC champion will instead return in a trilogy bout against Derek Chisora, 38, who he has twice beaten.
Whereas Joshua is primed to return in early 2023 and has Fury and Deontay Wilder, 37, in his plans for next year.
He said: "(Fury) or Wilder. Both. Both of them will be a hard night's work. Yeah, 2023 is him (Fury) or Wilder. Or both."
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Joshua was ringside to watch Dillian Whyte, 34, edge past Jermaine Franklin, 29, in a razor thin majority decision victory.
It has set up a rematch for the pair in the near future - possibly next - but AJ was left unimpressed.
He said: “If I was a trainer I would expect my fighter to knock someone like Jermaine Franklin out.
“With all due respect, with the experience and power Dillian has. Let’s be honest, Jermaine Franklin was not there to give Dillian any problems.
“That was his time to go out and put on a spectacular performance: ‘bang, bang, I’m back on the scene, I ain’t messing about, my passion, power and skills are still there’.
“That was the type of fight Dillian wanted but it was difficult, Jermaine Franklin made it tough, credit to him. Dillian will go again next year."
