UK heavyweight boxing is in good hands. Once the Americans dominated, the likes of Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce, Dillian Whyte and a long list of others have turned things in the Brits' favour, especially at a time when boxing once again sets its sights on the highest division. From professional boxing.
Right now, thanks to wins over Deontay Wilder and Wladimir Klitschko several years ago, Fury is viewed as the best fighter in the heavyweight division, backed by his WBC royal belt.
But Anthony Joshua cringes every time Fury receives that kind of praise. When it comes to his country, he refuses to accept anyone being better than him.
“I am the best heavyweight in the UK,” Joshua said during a recent press conference.
The speculation as to who the best UK heavyweight is will become clearer in the coming months. Fury will face Oleksandr Usyk for a chance to be the undisputed champion, his first since Lennox Lewis, who is also an Englishman. The loser will likely trigger an immediate rematch clause. Meanwhile, Joshua won't sit back and watch events in 2024.
Officially, the former unified champion will face UFC heavyweight legend Francis Ngannou on March 8. As long as everything goes as planned, Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) envisions a showdown with the winner of Fury vs. osik.
Despite there being countless competitors around the world, Joshua never loses sleep. Of course, Zhilei Zhang, originally from China, Filip Hrgovic, originally from Croatia, and Jared Anderson, the talkative American, are all legitimate threats and would love to take on “AJ” without question. But Joshua is focused on what's happening in his danger zone.
“I'm not too worried about the world,” Joshua continued. “I'm trying to get over where I live.”
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