Joe Joyce claims Tyson Fury 'has the edge' over 'negative' AJ

Joe Joyce claims Tyson Fury ‘has the edge’ over ‘negative’ Anthony Joshua who is too wary about getting hit after shock defeat by Andy Ruiz Jr… as the British heavyweights close in on two-fight mega-deal for 2021

  • Joe Joyce believes Tyson Fury will beat Anthony Joshua in their £200m fight
  • Joyce has had experience of sparring against both and says AJ is ‘too negative’ 
  • He believes Joshua is too wary of getting hit after his first loss to Andy Ruiz Jr
  • However, Joyce does say Joshua does have ‘great strength’ and ‘hand speed’ 

Joe Joyce believes Tyson Fury will beat Anthony Joshua in their £200million heavyweight showdown.

Joyce has had experience of sparring against both athletes and believes Fury holds the upper hand as AJ is too ‘wary of getting hit’.

It is likely that Joyce will face the winner of the Fury-AJ showdown, following his own fight against Oleksandr Usyk.  

Joe Joyce believes Tyson Fury will beat Anthony Joshua in their £200million showdown

Joyce knows Joshua from their days on the GB boxing squad and feels the unified champion is ‘too negative in his style’.

Joyce credited AJ for ‘picking himself up’ after suffering a stunning seventh round knockout defeat at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr. However, he claims the 31-year-old is now too worried about getting hit. 

When asked who he backed to win the Fury-AJ fight, Joyce told the Evening Standard: ‘I’m going with Fury because of his performances and the way he’s come back from his lowest point to beat Deontay Wilder for the WBC.

‘I think that while Joshua’s picked himself up since losing to Andy Ruiz Jr, he’s kind of been a bit too negative in his style, and been a bit wary of the shots coming back at him.

Joyce says Joshua has a negative style and is too wary of getting hit after losing to Andy Ruiz Jr

Joshua hit the canvas four times during his loss to Ruiz at Madison Square Garden in June 2019

‘Don’t get me wrong, it’s a 50-50 fight, Joshua has got great strength, hand speed, dedication and motivation, and he’s very competitive. With Fury, you know he is mentally very strong, tactically as well.

‘He’s unorthodox and hard to hit, he’s fast and he’s a bigger guy with the longer reach. For me, he has the edge.’

Joshua hit the canvas four times during his loss to Ruiz Jr. However, he reclaimed the WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA titles in the December 2019 during their rematch. 

Joshua won the fight by an unanimous decision after keeping his distance and taking Ruiz to the 12th round.    

Some critics, including Joyce, felt AJ was too cautious against Ruiz. While some felt the ‘negative style’ Joyce refers to could also be seen against Kubrat Pulev in December. 

Joyce did credit AJ for reclaiming the WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA titles in the December 2019

 Joyce believes Fury is ‘mentally very strong’, ‘bigger’ and has a ‘longer reach’ than Joshua

Joyce, who is looking to close in on a heavyweight world title after beating Daniel Dubois last year, believes he is ‘ready’ to take on both Fury and Joshua. 

He said: ‘I think I’m ready for them both. They’re both at the top of their game.

‘I’d make sure I have a great training camp and get my tactics right but I’m confident of my ability. I’ve sparred them both, we had competitive spars and it’ll be the same on fight night just with a lot more at stake.

‘If I get through Usyk and make that, and beat him, I’ve got the potential to fight the winner of AJ-Fury, which is the biggest fight. That’s of belts on the line.’  

Promoter Eddie Hearn (R) has confirmed that provisional details have been sent to Fury’s team

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed to Sportsmail that provisional details for the undisputed heavyweight clash between the Gypsy King and AJ were sent to Fury’s team on Tuesday.

The Fury camp, including his co-promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren, will respond with any amendments in the coming days ahead of signing a final agreement, which could be reached within two weeks, according to Hearn.

While options for the location are still open amid lucrative interest from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, the US, Australia and Singapore, Hearn says the date has been narrowed down to June after ruling out his earlier suggestions that the fight could be staged in late May. 




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