Tyson Fury has admitted he has doubts over whether his heavyweight unification bout with Anthony Joshua will go ahead in 2021.
British heavyweight boxing is going through somewhat of a golden period with Fury and Joshua among the top fighters in the world.
Fury has been on quite the journey since putting on a tactical masterclass to beat Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015.
The ‘Gypsy King’ brazenly stepped into Klitschko’s backyard and proceeded to announce himself to the world, leaving Dusseldorf’s Esprit Arena with a victory by unanimous decision along with the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts.
However, his career came to an abrupt halt after he was charged by the UK Anti-Doping authority and subsequently stripped of his titles.
After a long and arduous battle he managed to clear his name and returned to action in June 2018 with a fourth round win over Sefer Seferi.
Fury, who was also very public about his struggles with mental health, stated a desire to get back to the top of the division and went on to defeat Francesco Paineta to secure a showdown with Deontay Wilder for the WBC strap.
Controversial Draw with Wilder
Many felt Fury won his bout with Wilder in Los Angeles but, somewhat controversially, the judges called it a draw.
He went on to beat Otto Wallin in September 2019 before the rematch with Wilder, which ended in a seventh-round TKO victory for the Brit, in February 2020.
His return to the top of the division was complete but he still has an ambition to become the unified champion and, therefore, needs to take Joshua’s belts.
The duo recently agreed terms on a two-fight deal for 2021 but the much-anticipated all-British bout depends on both retaining their titles in the meantime.
Fury has a third encounter with Wilder to negotiate and is the 5/18 favourite, while his American rival can be backed at 12/5.
Two Obstacles for AJ to Overcome
Joshua, who holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, has to make two mandatory defences – Kubrat Pulev is set to get a shot at his IBF title, while Oleksandr Usyk is the mandatory WBO challenger.
Should either Fury or Joshua lose then their blockbuster bout would be in jeopardy.
Manchester-born Fury admits the amount of hurdles still to manoeuvre makes it hard for him to have much faith in finally being given the chance to go toe-to-toe with his compatriot.
“If it’s supposed to happen and I’m not convinced it is. I never have been convinced, never ever have I ever been convinced that I will fight Anthony Joshua,” Fury told IFL TV.
“How can I be convinced? If he’s got to fight Pulev and if he’s got to fight Usyk, how can I be convinced he’s going to get through those fights without losing? How can I be even confident I’m going to smash Wilder? Wilder can be absolutely blitz me in one round, good night Vienna. That would put a hell of a wedgie in the door.
“This is why I hate talking about fights that don’t exist yet. Can I honestly say 100 per cent this fight is going to happen? I can’t. But providing we both get through our next two fights, then I know it’s going to happen.”
Fury is priced at 10/21 to beat Joshua, who can be backed at 6/4.
*All odds correct at time of writing