Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has backed Tyson Fury to defeat Anthony Joshua in their potential mega-fight, citing the British-Nigerian’s telegraphed punches as a “recipe for disaster” against the Gipsy King, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Tyson, who held the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles during his illustrious career, praised Joshua’s power but questioned his predictability in a recent interview with BBC Sport.
“It’s very interesting; Joshua is a masterful puncher. But you can see his punches coming. He telegraphs his punches. And that’s just a recipe for disaster if you’re fighting Tyson Fury and you’re telegraphing your punches—to a guy whose 6ft 7in, come on,” Iron Mike said.
The boxing legend notably excluded Joshua from his top five current boxers, instead favouring Fury, Deontay Wilder, Andy Ruiz Jr, Vasyl Lomachenko, and Gervonta Davis. Current undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk is another notable omission.
A showdown between Joshua and Fury could materialise, depending on the outcome of Fury’s rematch with Usyk next month, with both Britons coming off losses in their last outings.
Joshua, 35, who has accumulated over $200m in career earnings, suffered a fifth-round knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois in September at Wembley, while Fury, 36, lost his WBC heavyweight title to Usyk via a split decision in May.
The Watford-born pugilist is currently nursing injuries and won’t return to action until at least May 2024, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.
“We got one last chapter in this career that we need to make sure we get 100 per cent spot on,” Hearn told Boxing News.
Meanwhile, Tyson, 57, is set to make his professional boxing return after an 18-year hiatus against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul (10-1) at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on November 15.
The highly anticipated clash between Joshua and Fury could finally happen under the Riyadh Season banner, with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh expected to make a lucrative offer should Fury fail to reclaim his title from Usyk in December.