Fans of heavyweight boxing would love nothing more than Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua to lock horns at some point down the line.
The unified world heavyweight champ was quick to mention the 'Gypsy King's' name after his 11th round TKO of Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday night, while Fury produced a typical Tweet following AJ's monumental victory at Wembley Stadium.
The 27-year-old defended the IBF world title against the Ukrainian, while unifying the division by collecting the vacant WBA [Super] and IBO world titles, and though Fury has been prominent praising Joshua, he can't help but throw a few digs in there at the same time - his most recent example coming after AJ's big win.
In an interview with Sky Sports, he said:
"AJ did really well to come back but I am not 41 or getting old. He is just a pumped-up weightlifter but (Klitschko) couldn't land one of those of those hooks on me, at all.
"I would just like to congratulate AJ for getting through the nip-and-tuck, life-and-death situation, against an old man, so well done.
"But let's face it, I am the man, the number one in the division. There can only ever be one heavyweight, especially in our part of the world, and it's me. It definitely isn't a pumped-up heavyweight, I can tell you that."
Back in 2013, though, when Joshua was just starting at as a professional, he received a few words of wisdom from Fury.
At the time, Fury had been a professional for five years and when appearing on a stacked episode of 'The Gloves Are Off' on Sky Sports that also featured Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno, was asked by host Johnny Nelson what advice he could give to the then upstart.
Watch what he had to say here:
Simple, but encouraging words from Fury four years ago.
He said:
"Just listen to yourself. Don't listen to anybody else - not one person because God forbid anything went wrong you can't blame other people and start pointing the finger.
"Always know that you're only to blame yourself because you made that decision and whatever you do in life, never regret it."
And now their paths are destined to cross in the ring in the near future, if all goes well.
As per promoter Eddie Hearn, April 2018 could be the date for the eagerly anticipated bout, if a few obstacles, such as Fury getting into fighting shape and havinghis licence returned, are bypassed.
"Believe me when I say that there is nothing that I or AJ would want more than to see Tyson back in the ring, but it won't be next - Tyson just won't be ready," Hearn wrote for the Daily Mail.
Image: PA
He went onto say the following about a potential Joshua vs Fury mega-fight:
"Physically he is not at the races and he has a lot to resolve in terms of his doping hearing and getting his licence back. Those have to be sorted before we can make anything happen.
"If they do get sorted, then it is a huge option for us in the short to mid-term future. We all know that AJ would love that fight.
"As it stands, I think the best chance of a Fury fight is April 2018, at Wembley.
"That depends on a successful defence in October or November and everything falling into place for Fury. If it does, that will be another incredible night for an incredible fighter."
Image: PA
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Featured Image Credit:Topics: Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Boxing, Wembley Stadium
