Posted by Chinenye on Tue 28th Jul, 2026 - tori.ng
The heavyweight rivalry is heating up as a boxing legend reveals where his loyalty stands before the much-anticipated showdown.
(Anthony Joshua. Photo Credit: Nigeria Stories)
Regardless of how either guy does in the ring, boxing veteran Mike Tyson has stated that he will always support Tyson Fury in a heavyweight match versus Anthony Joshua, claiming that his love for the Gypsy King makes it difficult for him to support the Nigerian-British star.
As Joshua and Fury finished their respective final warm-up fights before their much awaited home contest, promoter Eddie Hearn said that contracts for the fight had already been finalized. Tyson made the comments to Ring Magazine.
Tyson explained that if Fury enters the fight well-prepared and manages to avoid Joshua's punches, the contest could prove interesting, describing Joshua as a fast puncher while reaffirming his affection for Fury as the reason he could never root against him.
Joshua came through his assignment in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, though not without drama, having been floored twice within the opening 20 seconds of the first round by previously unbeaten Albanian fighter Kristian Prenga, who had entered the bout with a perfect record of 20 knockout wins from 20 fights.
The 36-year-old Joshua nonetheless showed his experience by recovering to stop Prenga in the second round, extending his record to 30 wins from 34 fights, including 27 knockouts.
The performance, despite the early knockdowns, is likely to give Fury's camp some encouragement heading into the bout.
Fury, for his part, faced far less difficulty in Thailand, cruising to a seventh-round stoppage of 46-year-old Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in an untelevised contest.
Joshua dedicated his win to the memory of two close friends and members of his team, Sina Ghami and Latif "Latz" Ayodele, who lost their lives in a car crash in Nigeria last December.
Speaking in the ring, an emotional Joshua said the victory went beyond punching power, describing it instead as a reflection of spirit tied to the memory of his late friends and their families, adding that the loss had been difficult to come to terms with as they were like brothers to him.
Hearn said a venue for the Joshua-Fury bout is yet to be finalised, with Wembley Stadium among the options under consideration, alongside the possibility of staging the fight in the United States.