Anthony Joshua has announced his intention to fight Tyson Fury next year.
Joshua, 36, beat Jake Paul with a sixth-round knock-out in Miami on Friday night to announce his return to the ring after 18 months out – and now appears to have his eyes set on the fight the world has been waiting for for years.
Fury, 37, claimed he was putting a £1million bet on YouTuber Paul to beat his old rival AJ and has been relentless in mocking his fellow former heavyweight champion in the build-up to the Miami fight.
And while Joshua claimed Fury was ‘not even on my radar’ pre-fight, he has now gone public with his intention to fight him in 2026.
Daily Mail Sport understands the pair are being lined up for their long-awaited showdown as part of Riyadh Season by Saudi supremo Tukri Alalshikh.
Anthony Joshua celebrates his win over Jake Paul – and now plans to fight Tyson Fury
Joshua says he ‘shook off cobwebs’ and is now ready for bigger and better things
‘We shook off the cobwebs and I can’t wait to roll into 2026,’ Joshua said. ‘And if Tyson Fury’s as serious as he thinks he is, and he wants to put down his Twitter fingers and put on some gloves and come and fight one of the realest fighters out there that will take on any challenge, step into the ring with me next.
‘If you’re a real bad man, don’t do all that talking, ‘AJ this, AJ that,’ let’s see you in the ring and talk with your fists.’
Joshua had been widely predicted to batter Paul but had to wait until the sixth round to get through his opponent’s grappling and dodging to land the knock-out blow.
Fury claims to be happily retired but a return to the ring looks inevitable for him
Both Fury and Joshua are now slated to fight in separate bouts in the early months of 2026 before headlining a mega-event together later in the year, if all goes well.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn added after the fight: ‘We want the Tyson Fury fight. That’s the biggest fight in boxing.
‘Respect to Jake Paul, he did a great job. 2026, back to the real business. Tyson Fury and the world heavyweight championship.’
Joshua’s overall record now stands at 29 wins and four defeats. Fury’s record is 34 wins, two losses and a draw. Their knock-outs stand at 26 vs 24.
