Anthony Joshua has called on his rival Tyson Fury to come out of retirement and honour their "gentleman's agreement" by fighting him.
The British star is currently preparing for his shot at revenge against Oleksandr Usyk after losing his unified titles last September. Joshua was set to meet Fury in an undisputed title clash last summer but was forced to fight Usyk when Fury was ordered to face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy bout.
Joshua believes Fury will return to the ring in the future despite his retirement claim - if the right fight is presented to him. "If Fury was in the boxing arena, was to come out of retirement and honour the gentleman's agreement, there's a lot of money to be made," Joshua said in an address to the Oxford Union.
"First and foremost, I have a pound-for-pound fighter on my list in Usyk, who's a tough competitor for sure. People say I only focus on what's in front of me, which is a good way to be, but also I want to look at what the bigger picture holds so I can steamroll through, I have to, so I can get to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
"So, for sure, I feel like retirement doesn't mean that you've completely given up and you're on the beach clicking your phone drinking a bottle of Corona. I feel he's still ticking over and he'll come back if the right fight is presented to him."
Fury recently defeated Joshua's former rival Dillian Whyte with a sixth-round stoppage before confirming his plans to retire in the ring. The 'Gypsy King' remains in pole position to face the winner of Joshua's rematch with Usyk, with no further mandatory defences of his WBC title required.
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The champion will be given time to decide whether he plans to vacate the title, which could see him given time to see if Joshua comes through his sequel against Usyk. The second meeting is expected to take place on July 23 with Joshua now preparing alongside coach Angel Fernandez.
He will need a monumental turnaround having been comprehensively outboxed in the opening fight, but has shown in the past his resolute attitude when avenging defeat to Andy Ruiz. Fury's father John has backed Joshua to get the nod when he renews his rivalry with Usyk, and believes his son would still accept a fight with Joshua.
“AJ has been beat but he’s got a terrible habit of bouncing back and I fancy him to get the return”, John Fury told IFL TV. "Truthfully, he’s capable of being a three-time world champion, he’s got that about him and, believe me, with a little bit more oil in his camp and the right people around him, I think he can do it.
“I’d be sick if Usyk won. Nothing against Usyk, he’s a great guy but my heart lies with the Watford man. If AJ can win, wild horses couldn’t keep Tyson in retirement.”
