Tyson Fury says he “feels sorry” for Anthony Joshua after his knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois – but insists he still wants to fight his British rival.
Joshua suffered the fourth loss of his professional career when he succumbed to IBF heavyweight champion Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September.
The former world champion was dropped four times in five rounds by Dubois on a chastening night but will seemingly fight on, with promoter Eddie Hearn saying a rematch with Dubois or a clash with Fury will be Joshua’s next contest.
I love it. I love the thrill of the fight. I love the boxing, I like the training, it keeps me fit and out of trouble and on a straight and narrow path.
Fury, who will face Oleksandr Usyk once again on December 21 after losing their first fight via a split decision in May, said of Joshua on Sky News: “I feel sorry for him at the minute, being cleaned out in the last fight in five rounds, so he’ll have to do that again – or not – and then decide his future.
‘Joshua fight would be entertaining’
“I’ve said after every [Anthony Joshua] loss I’ve felt deflated.
“When an adversary loses, and it’s not to you, you do feel down and depressed about it. I felt sad for him. It was sad to see a worthy opponent lose his crown.
“I’d still fight him whether he’s got five losses, 10 losses or 20. It’s not important because, at this stage of our careers, it’s about having good fights.
“I think it would still be an entertaining and interesting fight for the paying pundit.”
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Some of the best moments from the press conference for Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch with Fury on December 21
However, Fury says his immediate goal is for a third fight with Usyk, after previous trilogies versus Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora.
“I would like to have a trilogy with Usyk. It would be 1-1 and then we would have to do a rubber match and I’d be the only heavyweight in history to have three trilogies. That would be quite impressive.”