In Anthony Joshua’s world title winning campaign, there are two high-profile fights that have eluded him so far.
When he held the WBA, WBO and IBF world titles, an undisputed fight with hard-hitting Deontay Wilder made the most sense.
The American would end up welcoming Tyson Fury back to the heavyweight scene instead. Their first bout was a draw before Wilder lost his belt to the Brit via knockout in the second and failed to change the outcome in the third.
Fury is the other man fans would like to see Joshua in with, but the frustrating and public negotiations the pair have been involved in regularly come to nothing.
Asked by DAZN whether or not he felt Fury was ‘ducking’ him, Joshua stopped short of saying that he himself was being avoided by his countryman, but couldn’t have been clearer in his general opinion.
“I wish I could balance this, cause he’s ducking. He’s definitely a duck. Whether he’s ducking me, not right now, but he’s definitely a duck. That’s facts, like you can’t deny he’s a duck. So if we’re gonna pull out the animal cards I’m pulling out duck with Fury.”
The interview was likely filmed before the announcement that Fury had signed to face Oleksandr Usyk in the first undisputed heavyweight contest for over two decades.
Previously, Fury had caught some flak from a section of boxing fans and pundits for failing to make the fight earlier this year. He and his team maintained that it was Usyk who was playing hardball.
Should the contest go on to be officially announced and Fury faces the Ukrainian, Joshua is generally regarded as the final opponent he must fight before hanging up the gloves – if only to provide the British fans with one of the best domestic events in years.
In the meantime, ‘AJ’s team is still pushing for a fight with Wilder, but the negotiations have taken a hit born from a shift in the boxing landscape in Saudi Arabia.