Tyson Fury says he and Anthony Joshua 'have to fight'

Tyson Fury is back and full of fire, the former heavyweight champion giving several interviews after keeping a conspicuous low profile for some time in the summer. And Fury got the old noise back.

(Source: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)

Fury says he is in “search and destroy mode” heading into his must-win rematch with current heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk, saying he “can't leave it to the referees this time.”

This fight can't come soon enough, as fascinating as it is. Will there be a repeat or a revenge on December 21st in Riyadh? Regardless of the outcome, Fury says he and his long-time British rival Anthony Joshua will one day fight because they “have to fight.”

Speaking to TNT Sports last night, Fury said: “We will have to fight for the fans of this country.”

Now, not everything Fury says can be taken at face value; Fury has released some pretty outlandish things over the years. But Fury seems to mean it when he says that he and AJ will finally give us the fight we've wanted to see for so long.

“It doesn’t matter if he lost one fight or 21, he will never escape The Gypsy King,” Fury said of Joshua. “He will always have to fight me. No matter if he is 49, 42, 55 or 65, we will fight. I don't care if he never wins another fight for 20 years; We have to fight for the fans of this country.”

Whether we see this all-British showdown may depend on what happens in Joshua's next fight. If Joshua Daniel Dubois boxes a second time and gets knocked out a second time, Joshua could well decide to retire. We don't know, but would a Fury-Joshua fight have any real appeal if Joshua went into the fight having been knocked out twice in the Spin?

As for Fury's rematch with Usyk, he might decide to walk away if he loses again. Could Fury's ego sustain two losses to the same man? And what if Fury is stopped or eliminated in the Usyk rematch? This may prove to be too much of an achievement for Fury, the self-proclaimed greatest of all time, to endure.

But Fury is talking big ahead of the rematch in December, saying he is “ready to go” tonight.

“I’m ready to rock and roll,” Fury said. “I don’t need a 12-week camp. I've boxed all my life. I'm ready to go tonight, tomorrow, next weekend. This time I just need five weeks of good sparring.”

We'll have to wait and see whether additional sparring will help Fury against Usyk this time.