Anthony Joshua has fired back at Tyson Fury, criticising “The Gypsy King” for drawing inspiration from Daniel Dubois’s performance against him. The two heavyweight titans are on a collision course for a bout later this year, but Joshua first has his sights set on Kristian Prenga on July 25th.
Ahead of his upcoming fight in Saudi Arabia, Joshua engaged with media, including The Independent, to discuss various topics, with Fury inevitably being one of them. The conversation turned to recent comments made by Fury, who appeared to take encouragement from Dubois’s 2024 knockout victory over Joshua.
Fury had previously remarked, “Dubois fought ‘Big Baby’ [Jarrell] Miller, stopped him, never put him down. Then he fought [Filip] Hrgovic, stopped him, never put him down. He fought [Fabio] Wardley […] stopped him, never put him down. He hit [Oleksandr] Usyk with some big bombs, never put him over, but yet he fights Anthony Joshua and pummels him, puts him to the floor five times.”
In their actual contest, Dubois managed to floor Joshua four times, with another instance ruled a slip. Fury elaborated on this, stating, “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, get up!”
Joshua’s Rebuttal: “You Can’t Ride the Next Man’s Success”
Joshua, however, dismissed Fury’s comments during a press conference in London. He stated, “I just felt like, as a boss, you can’t ride the next man’s success. It’s Dubois’s success. How are you sitting there thinking that, because Dubois had success, ‘Yeah, that’s what part of what I’m doing’?”
He continued to articulate his perspective on Fury’s mindset, “It shows the type of mentality that he has. That’s not a boss; a boss is gonna create his own lane and talk about what he’s done and what he’s achieved.”
Joshua underscored his point by suggesting that Fury’s approach is indicative of a lack of self-confidence. “We could all talk about what [Francis] Ngannou done to him, we can talk about what Usyk done to him, we can talk about loads of comparisons. But for him to talk about Dubois’s success and use it as his own, shows me that he’s a d***-rider.”
Joshua’s remarks alluded to Fury’s own recent fights, including his encounter with former MMA champion Francis Ngannou in 2023. Ngannou, making his professional boxing debut, famously knocked Fury down and many observers felt he deserved the win on points, though Fury was ultimately awarded the decision. Joshua himself went on to defeat Ngannou by knockout in 2024. Later that year, Fury suffered two points defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, mirroring Joshua’s own past losses to the Ukrainian in 2021 and 2022.
Training and Psyche: Joshua’s Approach to Fury
Interestingly, Joshua has been seen training with Usyk in Ukraine in recent months. When questioned about whether he had gleaned any insights from Usyk on how to overcome Fury, Joshua responded, “I’ve fought Alex, and he didn’t need to do that with me. What I’m saying is, what Alex does to Fury… we’re all different characters.”
He acknowledged the potential for learning from Usyk’s experience, stating, “Maybe [I’d ask about those things], but… I know he read Fury’s book before he fought him, and you learn a lot about someone when you get to understand their psyche.”
Joshua intends to delve deeper into Fury’s mindset. “So yeah, I will definitely look at Fury’s psyche, but my true battle is in the ring – it’s not in a press conference. Yeah, I will [buy his book]. I’ll get someone to nick it!” he added with a laugh.
Fury’s Own Preparations and Joshua’s Recent Past
Meanwhile, Tyson Fury is also reportedly seeking a tune-up bout before his highly anticipated showdown with Joshua. He has expressed a desire to fight in Dublin on August 1st. Fury’s last ring appearance was in April, where he outpointed Arslanbek Makhmudov in Tottenham, with Joshua present at ringside.
Joshua’s most recent outing was a decisive sixth-round stoppage of YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December. Tragically, just ten days after that victory, Joshua was involved in a car crash in Nigeria. The accident, while Joshua survived, resulted in the loss of his teammates Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.
