Anthony Joshua has been advised that he is the only heavyweight that would give Tyson Fury a "good" fight.
'AJ' has been heavily linked with a fight against long-term rival Fury throughout his career, with the latter currently holding the WBC world title. Joshua recently suffered back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk which threatened to place him out of the world title picture, but he was offered a shot against Fury.
However talks between the pair once again collapsed, with AJ and the 'Gypsy King' still yet to settle their high-profile rivalry. Fresh rumours of a potential heavyweight showdown have arisen as part of a four-man tournament in the Middle East that would begin this year with Joshua coming up against Wilder.
But power-hitting legend George Foreman has suggested that the one fight he would like to see grace the division would be the all-British clash instead. “The one fight I want to see before I close my eyes out of boxing is Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua,” Foreman told talkSPORT.
“Anthony Joshua is the only guy who can give Tyson Fury a terrible fight – a good fight. Right now, Tyson Fury is the best thing going in boxing. But, I love that. Those two guys keep me excited about boxing. That Tyson Fury would have done well in any era. It doesn’t matter who, what, when or where, he would have done well.”
The fight originally looked to be on with the undisputed titles on the line when Joshua held the unified belts after reclaiming them with a rematch win over Andy Ruiz Jr. However the fight, which seemed destined for Saudi Arabia, collapsed with the WBC champion instead ordered to take a trilogy with Wilder.
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Joshua recently made a comeback win over Jermaine Franklin after linking up with new trainer Derrick James and is eyeing a huge fight at the end of the year. It remains unclear if he can regain a shot at the titles but it is expected he could first rematch Dillian Whyte on his next step to redemption.
But Hearn has admitted that a clash with Fury remains the priority for Joshua's team given the history of their rivalry. He told JOE: “If it was our preference, we would go straight into the Tyson Fury fight rather than the Wilder fight. Because that’s the fight that, ultimately, ‘AJ’ wants more than anything.
“But the Wilder fight is still massive, and he wants that fight as well – so why not? I think it will happen eventually but what you don't want is defeats and I think it is a big as it can be right now. In my opinion he can beat Deontay Wilder and he can beat Tyson Fury but I'd like to see another fight under Derrick James just to make them improvements."
