TYSON FURY insists a historic Battle of Britain with Anthony Joshua is “dead” in the water until his rival proves himself worthy of another world title shot.
The Gypsy King has twice been close to locking horns with his Brit rival but the mouthwatering showdown has, so far, failed to come to fruition.
British boxing fans are still eager for the pair to settle their feud, although Fury currently has no interest in the once-in-a-lifetime domestic dust-up.
The WBC heavyweight champ, 35, told The Daily Mail: “I don’t really care what he says. He’s a bum in my opinion.
“He’s just one big bum-dosser that has been knocked out three times.
“He’s been knocked out twice and had three losses. He can’t even compare in my league any more.
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“It’s not even a fight I am thinking about any more. I’m not even interested.”
Fury and Joshua were on course to take part in a two-fight series before Deontay Wilder won his arbitration for a trilogy fight with the former.
AJ went on to suffer back-to-back defeats to unified heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk after the fight collapsed.
Fury said of the Watford warrior’s recent woes: “That bubble has been burst.
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“His virginity has been taken away so it’s not interesting for me any more.
“He’s been spanked by Usyk twice and been beaten by a fat man.
“So it’s not in my interest to beat him.”
Fury has held up the division by taking a controversial crossover clash with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who he meets in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
And he insists the Predator poses more of a threat than AJ ever would, saying: “I am fighting a guy who is in his prime, who is a champion.
“Who is bigger than him, who is stronger than him and who is a bigger knockout puncher than him.
“He needs to get to the back of the queue. That fight is gone, it’s dead.
“That fight was off the cards as soon as he got beaten.”
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Joshua, 33, is currently eyeing a long-overdue grudge match with Wilder after bouncing back from consecutive defeats to Usyk.
The fight was expected to take place in January but AJ promoter Eddie Hearn is frantically trying to find a new site for the bout after Saudi Arabia withdrew their interest.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk