It might be an Anthony Joshua fight week, but talk is never far from the topic of Tyson Fury.
Joshua is ready to fight Jermaine Franklin in London on Saturday, but Joshua was asked on a recent media call whether Tyson Fury – who is often credited as the people’s champion of the division – IS the actual people’s champion or if Joshua is, because he has greater social media figures that the Gypsy King.
Joshua simply said they were both people’s champion, but the two heavyweights do play to different audiences.
“He’s a people’s champion,” Joshua admitted. “Remember, I put a lot of effort in to pushing the heavyweight division into a healthy place early on in my career and I understood the concept of marketing, PR and it shows in the figures. Brand partnerships and stuff… It didn’t happen easily. He’s a people’s champion, I’m a people’s champion. There’s no competition in that sense. The only competition I need to have with him is in the ring.”
But, alas, cynics find it hard to believe that fight will happen. Twice they have negotiated and twice the proposed fight has collapsed. Joshua was unsurprised when Fury’s negotiations with Oleksandr Usyk imploded last week, and it makes the Londoner what offer he might receive from Fury now AJ is beltless, having lost his titles to Usyk.
Asked to rank the top three heavyweights in the world, Joshua said if he included himself it would be Usyk, Fury and himself, and if he left himself out, it would be Usyk, Fury and Deontay Wilder.
