TYSON Fury said he can knock out fellow British world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua inside two rounds due to his recent form.
WBC belt holder Fury said following Joshua’s past two bouts – a unanimous points decision over Andy Ruiz Junior in December 2019 and a ninth-round stoppage of Kubrat Pulev last month – the fight would be a no contest.
Fury gained a unanimous points decision over Swede Otto Wallin in September 2019 before an impressive seventh-round knock-out to take the WBC title off Deontay Wilder last February.
“I don’t believe he’s (Joshua) as good as people crack him up to be, or he doesn’t believe he is in his own self,” Fury told Sky Sports.
“He’s got a confidence issue. He’s coming off two shaky performances and boxing is all about who is in form and who isn’t. On his last two fights, he’s not in form.
“On mine, I am, so momentum is with me and I just believe take him out early, very early, maybe even one round or two rounds.”
Fury is optimistic the fight, which would be one of the biggest in British boxing history, will take place as soon as possible.
Potential hurdles in the way of the super-fight include Joshua’s WBO mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk and another possible meeting between Fury and Wilder. Fury, 32, said now was the time for Joshua to back up his words by finally fighting him.
“Whenever the world gets back to normal, whatever normal may consist of after this pandemic, then that’s when this fight is going to happen,” he said.
“This fight has been brewing for a long time. They’ve been avoiding me for a long time and now it’s finally got to happen.
“They either run away from the fight or announce it publicly or they take the fight. Either way it’s a lose-lose situation for him.”
Fury believes there is an imperative for the fight to happen sooner rather than later, comparing the bout to the one between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao that finally took place in 2015.