Anthony Joshua insists he wants to face Tyson Fury in 2026 ahead of his fight with Jake Paul on Friday.
AJ will go up against YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul in Miami, which will be streamed live on Netflix.
Last week, The Ring Magazine, which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s boxing kingpin Turki Alalshikh, reported that a fight between Joshua and Fury is ‘as close as it has ever been to finally happening’, and is planned to headline a Riyadh Season card in 2026.
Fury announced his retirement from boxing after a second successive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in their undisputed world heavyweight title fight last December.
But over the weekend, Fury teased a potential comeback as he posted a message on social media which read: ‘The king must return to his throne. There is a long and lonely road that only I can walk on, but after the long and hard battles awaits immortality!’
Joshua, meanwhile, is currently in Miami preparing for his fight with Paul, which will be shown at around 3:30am in the UK on Saturday morning, but speaking at a media event on Tuesday night, the 36-year-old said he is optimistic about his chances of fighting Fury next year.
‘I’ve spoken to Tyson before, me and Tyson have. I actually signed to fight Tyson,’ Joshua said.
‘I think it was actually around the time I put my belts up to fight [Oleksandr] Usyk, I was supposed to fight Tyson Fury.
‘And Fury had his issues with [Deontay] Wilder and their contractual issues, so they fought a third time. But I’ve been in a position to fight Fury a number of times, yeah.’
Asked if he hopes to fight Fury, Joshua replied: ‘Of course, there’s hope. Especially when you’re talking about doing big time boxing.
‘And Jake’s showcasing it can be done and I’m showcasing it can be done. Now we’ve been in mega fights time and time again.
‘This ain’t our first rodeo, we’re back again, big time boxing, I just feel like it takes two to tango and I’m on the dance floor. I’m just looking for a dance partner.’
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