A fighter who has traded punches in the ring with both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua has weighed in on their potential showdown, claiming one man holds a distinct edge over the other.
The two British heavyweights are expected to clash in November, provided Joshua first comes through his tune-up bout against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 25. While the opponent may not be the toughest challenge, Joshua can perhaps be excused—he hasn’t fought since his sixth-round stoppage win over Jake Paul in December, and has been recovering physically and emotionally from a tragic car crash that claimed the lives of his two closest friends. His last meaningful fight was a fifth-round stoppage loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
As Joshua gears up for his comeback, Fury has expressed a desire to have another outing before they finally meet later this year. This would follow his unanimous decision victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov last month—his first fight since losing via points decision to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024.
However, based on Fury’s inconsistent form in recent years and his last performance, former sparring partner Agron Smakici told Boxing News he favors Joshua.
“I would go for Joshua. Both fighters are great, both fighters have different skills, but I will go for Joshua because he’s more prepared, more focused on this sport all the time,” Smakici said. “Tyson Fury was in-and-out [of retirement] and had problems in his private life. It takes the energy and drains your body. You can see he’s much slower—the reflexes are not there. With Joshua, if you make one mistake it can cost you a lot. He has really big power in his hands.”
Smakici famously cut Fury during a sparring session in early 2024, which caused a delay to the initial bout between Fury and Usyk.
