Tyson Fury has highlighted what he believes is a major Anthony Joshua weakness as the clock ticks down to their eagerly-awaited all-British superfight later this year.
Fury and Joshua, both two-time heavyweight champions of the world, will finally meet inside the ropes in Q4 of this year, live on Netflix. That should end a long wait for the biggest superfight of this boxing era to happen at last.
Neither man is the force they once here – Fury (35-2-1) is now 37 and Joshua (29-4) is 36 – but the latter in particular has major questions to answer given his last elite level outing was a disastrous defeat at the hands of Daniel Dubois at Wembley in September 2024.
That night Joshua, who had gone in favourite to join the select band of three-time world heavyweight champions, was blasted to a devastating defeat by the powerful Dubois – he was on his back in four of the five rounds en route to a knockout defeat.
Last night in Manchester Dubois produced another terrific performance to himself a two-time world heavyweight champion by stopping the brave Fabio Wardley in an epic slugfest. And that got Fury thinking about what he had just witnessed, leading him to provide a fascinating take.
Fury on what Dubois win means for AJ
Speaking on social media, he said: “Well I’ve just been sat here thinking after Dubois’ unbelievable fight last night.
“Dubois fought ‘Big Baby Miller’, stopped him but never put him down.
“Then he fought Hrgovic, stopped him and never put him down.
“He fought Wardley last night in an unbelievable fight, stopped him and never put him down.
“He fought Usyk, hit him with some big bombs, never put him over.
“But yet he fights Anthony Joshua and pummels him, puts him to the floor five times.
“I’m not saying Anthony Joshua’s chinless, but they’re the facts, take it as you wish and as you will.
“Everybody else never went over, not a singular person – ‘Big Baby Miller’, Hrgovic, Usyk or Wardley but Joshua goes down five times. Chinny!”
Joshua’s Achilles Heel?
Joshua’s devastating loss to Dubois wasn’t the first time he’s been exposed at the highest level – remember massive underdog Andy Ruiz Jr stunning the then heavyweight king in their first meeting at Madison Square Garden back in 2019. Until that point AJ had been seen as a devastating unstoppable force.
There is a school of thought which says Joshua remains a massive and concussive puncher, and still possibly one of the best finishers around once he gets in position to chose the show. But is also extremely vulnerable to opponents who hit him with big bombs, particularly on the counter.
Fury himself of course is no stranger to being on the canvas – remember Deontay Wilder had him down four times in their epic trilogy. But ‘The Gypsy King’ has always somehow found the nous and will to emerge from the deepest of waters. Even when he was battered all around the ring by Oleksandr Usyk in the ninth round of their spectacular first fight.
Ever since Fury vs Joshua was first mooted many years ago, we’ve always thought that Joshua is the puncher in that fight. Maybe, just maybe, we were wrong.
