'I'll use it as fuel' – Anthony Joshua admits Tyson Fury's trash talk affects him, and wants to 'punish' him for his words

04/04/2024 21:00

Anthony Joshua insists he will use Tyson Fury’s trash talk to fuel him when they eventually step into the ring together.

AJ has often opted not to engage in back-and-forths with his opponents before fight night but a bout with Fury carries the expectation of a verbal sparring session.

‘The Gypsy King’ has had plenty to say about his fierce rival over the years, and not much of it has been nice.

Joshua claims he has ‘stored up’ all of Fury’s insults and vows to make the lineal heavyweight champion eat his words when they finally duke it out.

"This is one of my rivals, this is someone I want to compete with one day,” Joshua said of Fury during a recent appearance on the Jonathan Ross Show.

“So everything he says, I've got it all stored in the back of my memory and when the fight happens, I'm going to use it as a lot of fuel."

Asked whether trash talk can affect him, Joshua replied: "100 per cent. You take it personally and you meditate on it. You want to punish them for what they said about you."

The so-called ‘Battle of Britain’ is one of the most highly-anticipated heavyweight fights in recent history.

But despite multiple attempts at getting the blockbuster clash over the line, it has yet to come to fruition.

Boxing fans have been clawing their eyes out waiting for the heavyweight titans to meet in the squared circle and luckily for them, it looks as though the long-awaited fight will happen sooner rather than later.

Joshua recently admitted that he plans to hang up his gloves in two years time so the clock is ticking for the contest to happen.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s influence means that money, which was previously a point of contention in negotiations, won’t be a problem.

Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh has also helped promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren establish a better business relationship which will no doubt benefit the fight in the long run.

Currently, Fury is tied up by a two-fight deal with Oleksandr Usyk but once they have settled their score Joshua is expected to face his fellow countryman thereafter.

According to Hearn, Fury vs Joshua could even take place this year.

“Because the darts championship happens in December and January, I’m gonna say that Fury vs AJ happens this year,” he told Piers Morgan Uncensored.

“So I’m gonna say Fury vs AJ [happens first].”