Tyson Fury could not help himself in sending a message to Anthony Joshua while holding his press conference for the upcoming Oleksandr Usyk bout. Fury has long been rumoured to be facing Joshua in the not-too-distant future, but first must concentrate on his unification bout with Usyk on May 18.
But while speaking on Usyk, Fury sent a sly jab towards his old rival in Joshua, insinuating that he is ‘average’ after discussing Usyk’s former opponents. Usyk defeated Joshua in convincing style in back-to-back bouts, putting the Ukrainian atop the heavyweight division where he will face Fury for the four championship belts.
At the press conference in Morecambe, Fury said: “When the cruiserweights step up to the big boys, usually they get found wanting. Even the greatest cruiserweight who ever lived, Evander Holyfield, when he stepped up to the big boys and beat Lennox Lewis he got found wanting.
“You can beat the average big ones but you can’t the elite big ones. Size really matters and we have weight divisions for a reason.
“Even look at David Haye, he was an explosive good cruiserweight and good heavyweight. when he fought average heavyweights he could beat them but then he fought Klitschko it wasn’t really a contest.”
Fury’s trainer, SugerHill Steward, was then asked about why Usyk’s opponents in the heavyweight division have struggled to put in performances against him.
Fury quickly interrupted, insinuating that he does not believe Joshua to be capable of beating him. He said: “Limited ability. Limited. Limited ability. They tried their best with their own ability but it was very limited.”
Fury’s trainer, SugarHill Steward, also interestingly admitted that he did not believe the Gypsy King to be in the best mindset ahead of his last fight, in a close win over Francis Ngannou.
He said: “I believe the Ngannou fight was a result for him not being as mentally prepared as he is for this fight.”
Fury had originally had a bout scheduled with Joshua in 2021, before Wilder invoked his rematch clause which the British star went on to win by way of an 11th round knockout. Since then, the two fighters have taken different paths, but could be on course to meet later this year should Fury defeat Usyk.
