TYSON FURY is still haunted by losing one Great British boxing fight – so he will not let Anthony Joshua suffer the same fate.
The pair of heavyweight superstars have spent years agonisingly circling each other without yet sharing the ring.
Fury went through a similar experience when he was lined up to fight Northern rival David Price over a decade ago.
But that mammoth match up fell by the wayside – so Fury will not let lightening strike twice when it comes to fighting AJ.
He said on TNT Sports: “At the end of the day, it would be a travesty if we didn’t fight.
“No matter if he loses 20 more fights, if he doesn’t win another fight and he has 10 years away from the game, it doesn’t matter.
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“We have to fight. I did an interview recently and I said, ‘Look, it doesn’t matter if we’re 50 years old, we’ll have to fight.
“I lost one big fight already with David Price, he was a British hope at one stage and that was building up lovely.
“That would’ve been a massive fight in Liverpool or Manchester but that’s gone now. And it would be a travesty if we didn’t fight each other.”
Fury, 36, looked on course to face Joshua, 34, next year with a double header – from Saudi Arabia to London – being put together behind the scenes.
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But AJ looks to have blown it after suffering a knockout loss to Daniel Dubois, 27, at Wembley Stadium.
Fury meanwhile rematches Oleksandr Usyk, 37, on December 21 following his undisputed title loss in May and is back in training for the title bout.
He said: “I’m ready to rock and roll. I don’t need a 12-week camp. I’ve been boxing all my life.
“I’m ready to go tonight, tomorrow, next weekend. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, it doesn’t really matter.
“I can come in the ring at 30 stone and do 15 rounds. I’m a natural at it, do you know what I mean?
“All I need is five or six weeks sparring, good sparring this time.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk