TYSON FURY can retire a happy man without ever fighting Anthony Joshua – having already beaten the rival he was most obsessed with.
The pair of domestic heavyweight stars have tried and failed to have a Battle of Britain bout.
After Joshua, 33, lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk, it floored fans’ hopes of the dream fight even further.
Now Fury, 34, looks set to face Usyk, 35, in a bid to crown the heavyweight division’s first four-belt undisputed champion.
And that appears to be enough for the Gypsy King to walk away without any regrets in his career.
He told iFL TV: “All of a sudden you’ve got this Ukrainian lad who’s come up from the weight below, beat Joshua and taken his acclaim for whatever he built and achieved.
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“He’s now lost that and Usyk is a worthy challenger, but five years ago they were nobodies, they weren’t even thought of.
“Times change, things change, goalposts move but at the end of the day my goals have always been my goals.
“My only real goal in boxing was to defeat the long-reigning super champion in Wladimir Klitschko.
“The second longest-reigning champion in the history of our sport.”
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Fury dethroned Klitschko in 2015, ending a nine-year reign at the top of the throne and marked a new era in the division.
Fury had spent years building his way up to a title shot against Klitschko, setting up a famous upset on German soil.
He said: “Klitschko, all those years ago in the press conference, he said ‘You want me belts don’t you? You want what I have.’
“I said no. I don’t. I couldn’t give a f*** about any of that. I just want to punch your face in mate.
“And he didn’t understand it, but I hope he can understand it today. None of that was ever, ever, ever what I wanted.
“I just wanted to beat that man. And then when I beat him, Everest was over. It was done. My lifetime achievement goal finished through beating him.
“It was always about beating Klitschko. I was obsessed with the man for years.
“Obsession is a crazy thing to have for something. No one gave me a chance. And when I beat him, that was it.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk