Tyson Fury claims he tried to make fight with “diva” Anthony Joshua six times

Fury has branded Joshua a “diva” and believes his heavyweight rival couldn’t beat him with a baseball bat during sleep, as the ‘Gypsy King’ made his assessment on an undisputed title fight

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Tyson Fury rules out return to boxing ring but would reconsider for a £500 million fee

Tyson Fury has slammed “diva” Anthony Joshua and claimed that his rival couldn’t beat him with a baseball bat.

The ‘Gypsy King’ has been rivals with Joshua for several years but has yet to face him in the ring and has now ‘retired’ from boxing. Fury could find himself in a position to face Joshua for the undisputed titles this summer if his rival can secure revenge victory over Oleksandr Usyk.

However Fury has claimed that he has tried to make the fight with his British counterpart six times without any success. “Tried to make that fight six times at least and unsuccessful every time because you’re messing with a diva,” Fury said when assessing a potential undisputed fight during an interview with iFL TV. “Prima donna, little sucker b****, who don’t want to fight. He couldn’t beat me if he had a baseball bat while I was sleeping.

“That bird has flown. Years ago when he was an undefeated knockout artist people thought he could beat Tyson Fury. Maybe. Then when Anthony Joshua got bounced off the canvas by Andy Ruiz, people said he’s a bodybuilder Tyson’s right he hasn’t got a chance. Then he goes and gets beaten by a cruiserweight. I am the heavyweight king no-one can even lace my gloves, never mind a bodybuilder who has lost two of his last fights.”

A fight between Joshua and Fury has come tantalisingly close in the past, with the pair signing a contract for an undisputed title fight last year worth over £100 million. However Fury was forced to pull out of the deal and face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy after being ordered by a court arbitration.

Fans have clamoured for the pair to fight for several years particularly following Fury’s explosive rematch victory over Wilder which set precedence for all of the titles to be on the line. However Joshua now faces an uphill battle to face Fury, needing victory over Usyk to become three-time heavyweight champion.

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Despite Fury’s planned retirement, Joshua believes his rival will return to the ring for the right offer and he will use that as motivation for victory in his rematch. “If Fury was in the boxing arena, was to come out of retirement and honour the gentleman’s agreement, there’s a lot of money to be made,” Joshua said in an address to the Oxford Union.

“First and foremost, I have a pound-for-pound fighter on my list in Usyk, who’s a tough competitor for sure. People say I only focus on what’s in front of me, which is a good way to be, but also I want to look at what the bigger picture holds so I can steamroll through, I have to, so I can get to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I feel he’s still ticking over and he’ll come back if the right fight is presented to him.”