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Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder? Anthony Joshua names his dream fight

The Brit must first face Andy Ruiz Jr in a rematch in Saudi Arabia in December

Alice Reeves-Turner
Saturday 28 September 2019 13:08 BST
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Joshua vs Ruiz 2 Press Conference

Anthony Joshua says his dream fight would be to face Tyson Fury at Wembley.

When asked what his ideal fight would be following his immediate focus of avenging his shock defeat to Ruiz Jr, Joshua said: “I always change it, but right now, I’d say Fury at Wembley. The best of Britain. It is a massive fight.”

Joshua went on to insist that he would eventually fight both Fury and Deontay Wilder.

“Yes, 100 per cent. That’s like asking if a certain football team will play another football team. Of course. We’re in the same division, in the same era. We have to fight each other.

“We’re all big draws in the heavyweight division so it would be massive. I’d love to fight Wilder, I’d love to fight Fury. I’m fighting Ruiz Jr next. The list goes on – there’s so many out there that I’d love to compete with.”

But fight fans will have to wait for Joshua’s meeting with Fury and Wilder as he will first attempt to regain his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles from Ruiz in a December rematch in Saudi Arabia.

The British heavyweight suffered a shock defeat in New York in June, when he abruptly lost his world title and unbeaten record.

“It’s been a journey,” he said. “A lot of highs and a lot of lows, from the amateurs to the pros. Through the process you gain experience which has led me to this point in my life.”

If Ruiz is able to defeat Joshua for a second time he will establish himself as an elite heavyweight, but promoter Eddie Hearn says that Joshua has revamped his training to make sure this doesn’t happen.

“I think movement and looseness in this fight is quite important for him,” Hearn told Sky Sports. “He’s got to have that movement with him as well.

“I think with AJ, it’s never about the weight, it’s more about how he feels, how he’s training, what he’s doing.

“Against [original opponent for the fight against Ruiz Jr] Jarrell Miller, it was more about size, because he was going to get walked down. He wanted to be big, strong, solid. Obviously against Ruiz, someone that’s faster, it’s probably better to be a little bit lighter and more fluid.

“I think there will probably be a little bit of focus on being that way in this fight, rather than preparing for Jarrell Miller, like they did for 70 per cent of their camp last time.”

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