Tyson Fury on Losing Joshua: I have no interest in kicking anyone while they’re down

Tyson Fury admitted on Wednesday he was “absolutely hurt” when he saw Oleksandr Usyk knock down Anthony Joshua on Saturday night in London.

Fury had obviously hoped Joshua would win, so their incomparably lucrative heavyweight championship showdown would have remained a possibility after Fury faced Deontay Wilder for a third time on October 9 in Las Vegas. If Fury beats Wilder again, he will have to find another opponent for his first fight of 2022 as Ukrainian Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) and Englishman Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) are contractually engaged in a immediate rematch which promoter Eddie Hearn intends to meet for February or March somewhere in the UK.

As much money as Joshua’s 12-round unanimous decision loss could have cost him, Fury declined to criticize his British rival on Wednesday when he asked about Joshua’s loss on a Zoom conference call with a group of journalists.

Fury stressed that he was fully focused on tackling the always dangerous Wilder for a third time and that he hadn’t taken too long to think about the impact of losing Joshua on his results.

“I can’t think of what happened in other fights,” Fury said. “I can only think of myself. I know it’s selfish, but it’s a very selfish game I’m in. So I didn’t really think about Usyk or Joshua. One thing I’ll say, though, while everyone’s listening, is that I have no interest in signing anyone up, you know, or kicking anyone while he is on the ground. Its not my style. I like to choose someone who is doing well, who succeeds, at the top. I don’t like to pick on people who are at their lowest and probably lowest and probably mentally unstable or sick, when they’ve lost after such a long reign.

“So you know Usyk did his job. He had to do what he had to do. And this is it. And Joshua has to do what he has to do. But like I said, none of my real stuff. I can’t say I’m interested because I have ‘The Bronze Bomber’ to deal with. And then, whichever is next, we’ll take care of them, just like I did with my other 31 opponents that I have already faced.

When asked later on the conference call to rate Usyk as the heavyweight champion, Fury didn’t reveal much about an undefeated southpaw who beat Joshua on all three scorecards to win. the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO belts at Tottenham Hotspur stadium (117-112, 116-112, 115-113).

“He did his job… and that’s all I know,” Fury said. “He won his fight. Good luck to him. There is not much to express. Did I watch the fight? Yes I did it. Was I absolutely hurt that he won? Yes. I was hoping Joshua could win the fight, but he couldn’t, and that’s none of my business.

Manchester Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) is regularly listed as a 3-1 favorite to beat Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in their 12-round fight for the crown Fury’s WBC. Their third fight will be the title of a four-fight pay-per-view joint venture between ESPN and FOX Sports of T-Mobile Arena.

Keith Idec is a senior writer / columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.