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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Donagh Corby

Boxing fans divided over whether Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury has best record

Boxing fans engaged in a fierce debate over whether Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua has the best resume after a social media joke from the former champion.

Joshua replied to a comment from a fan on Twitter who mocked Fury's record by making the tongue-in-cheek observation that his rival is "the best to do it".

But fans in the comments underneath the two-time heavyweight champion's post were split on who actually has the better record out of the two.

Of course, general consensus is that with his two losses against Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua has to accept defeat in any debate over legacy with Fury.

But the Manchester native's big wins generally only include his double victories over Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder, as well as Wladimir Klitschko and perhaps the inclusion of Steve Cunningham.

Meanwhile, London 2012 gold medalist Joshua has a number of big name wins since his professional debut in 2013, including Dillian Whyte, Joseph Parker, Ruiz in a rematch and Klitschko as well.

Anthony Joshua has lost twice in his career, while Fury is undefeated and has only drawn once in a contentious bout with Deontay Wilder (Getty Images)

However, it's the slightly lower-tier names on the list that tend to sway fans in Joshua's favour, with Fury's interim bouts since beating Klitschko coming against unremarkable opponents.

His gruelling decision win over Otto Wallin has aged well in recent years after the Swede's recent run of wins, but Tom Schwarz, Francesco Pianeta and Sefer Seferi pale in comparison to some of the names on Joshua's list.

The Watford fighter won his first world title from Charles Martin before beating Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina, neither of whom are household names but generally would be more impressive than Pianeta, Schwarz or Seferi.

And after unifying the IBF, WBA and WBO belts with Klitschko in 2017, he defeated Carlos Takam, Parker and Povetkin before his two fights, one of which he lost, against Ruiz and a mandatory defence against Kubrat Pulev.

But fans tended to side with Fury in the comments of his tweet, with one saying "still undefeated," of Fury.

"He completely dominated a younger nearly decade unbeaten Klitschko in Germany," the fan continued.

"Then you struggled past an older Klitschko. Let's be honest. Who on AJ's record would beat Wilder 2 (3) times in a row? None."

One Joshua supporter replied, noting that Joshua had been able to stop the Ukrainian when they fought, whereas Fury could only earn a tight decision.

"It wasn’t ‘completely dominated’ though was it?" They asked. "At least AJ could actually stop Klitschko unlike Fury."

Who do you believe is the better British heavyweight; Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Another replied to Joshua saying "He's beat everyone put in front of him and held all the belts, won his titles in the champions back yard, some can't even win on their own country grounds."

One other fan noted that Fury "owns" this era of heavyweight boxing, saying that Joshua's supposed joke wasn't funny.

"If you’re tryna be sarcastic it ain't working mate you're finished," the said. "Not on Tyson's level. He owns this era."

But there were certainly supporters of Joshua in the comments, with one saying: "AJ takes off Fury’s head with furious uppercuts if Fury dares fight him the way he fought Wilder.

"AJ needs to get back to brawling. Come in close. Leave all the boxing sweet science. Body Uppercut body uppercut. Nose to nose infighting.

"AJ beats everybody."

Another added: "Sarcasm or not, Fury has defended his title once in his entire career and to add to that he’s only fought two of the top 10 current heavyweights.

"AJ gets disrespected because he’s lost, but so did some of the all time greats. A loss or two doesn’t define your career."

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