With a super-fight between the Brits now closer than ever to
materialising, Joshua, 31, said: ‘All I wanted was his Rolex watch. He
said before that spar (to Boxing News), “If you can beat me up or knock
me out, you can have my Rolex watch”. ‘I was hungry then and I am even hungrier now. It was a good spar. I
didn’t really know too much, it was just passion. Now I have some boxing
IQ and passion, I know it will be a great fight.
‘There was a Rolex but now there is an even bigger pot of gold at the
end of this rainbow and I want to take his head off his shoulders when
that fight happens.’
Joshua, the IBF, WBA and WBO champion, added: ‘After the Pulev fight I
didn’t want to do any interviews – less talk and more action. I stood
by that. But now that we’re talking about it, a week or so after, and
I’m ready, I’m keen. If that fight happens I’m sure that I’ll win. How
close are we? I promise you conversations are happening. We’re
definitely looking at the landscape. But until you hear it from me,
don’t buy into anything.
‘I’m taking my time – because there has been a lot of back-and-forth
for years. I’ve been chasing this road to undisputed and when the time
is right I’ll announce it and I’ll have my mind fully focused on the job
at hand.
‘The offers will be made, substantial offers. I’m looking more
optimistically as if it will happen to be honest with you. He should
take this fight with both hands.
‘I promise you this: I will put in a serious offer to fight Tyson Fury and if he’s serious himself, he will take it. If he’s not I will fight (Oleksandr) Usyk and leave it there.’
Heavyweight boxer, Usyk is among the problems around the fight for
the undisputed title, given the Ukrainian is the mandatory challenger
for Joshua’s WBO belt.
With the WBO currently holding Joshua to his obligation to fight Usyk
next, Joshua could have to vacate the belt in order to complete
negotiations with Fury.
Asked about giving up one of his titles, Joshua said: ‘The belts do
make it special but I feel like the cries from the public are just for
me to fight Tyson Fury.
‘I am the sort of guy who will let my team just put a social media
poll and whatever the fans vote, I will do. If they want to see me fight
Fury, and I have to relinquish… There is nothing more in it than me
wanting to compete against the best.
‘If that is Tyson Fury, then fine. If they want me to fight Usyk, and get him out of the way, then fine. I believe I will beat Usyk and then Tyson Fury
can happen at the end of the year. Either way, I am just doing my next
couple of fights next year on what the public wants me to do.’
In terms of his future, Joshua indicated he has a point in mind for when he will retire.
He said: ‘I have a time frame, I want to go to around 38.
‘I am not just looking at Tyson Fury,
but how long I can give to the sport. What more do I have to give? I am
young and fit, I don’t do anything else so boxing is fun for me and
keeps me busy.
‘Tyson Fury
is a good challenger, someone to help me progress, he will be a great
learning fight. And, once that is done, I will go on competing with the
best, challenging myself and making history.’
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