Tyson Fury confirms Anthony Joshua fight is off, calls out Oleksandr Usyk

Dubai: Tyson Fury might just be returning to the boxing ring but his opponent won't be Anthony Joshua. The UK boxing rivals have gone back and forth, blaming each other for the failed negotiations.

Nevertheless, Fury has now claimed to have moved on from AJ as he eyes his next opponent. In an Instagram story, the Gypsy King said, "So it looks like AJ has (expletive) his pants yet again. After 11 years, he’s finally (expletive) his pants yet again.”

The two have been arch rivals for more than a decade and have yet to face off each other in a boxing ring. While things looked to get closer in negotiations earlier this year, Fury has now broke the bad news to the boxing fans.

The 38-year-old the called out his other rival Oleksandr Usyk by saying, "Let’s do it again. Let’s run it back in November. The ball is now in your court, Oleksandr.” The two have fought each other twice with the Ukrainian winning both the fights via decision.

Usyk remains the only boxer who has defeated Fury professionally. With hopes of trying to overcome his two losses, Fury urged the Ukrainian to fight him this year. He added, "Do you want to fight me this year, 2026, or are you calling it quits? Let me know, because I’m now looking for a new opponent."

Following Fury's second loss to Usyk in December 2024, the British boxer had announced his sixth retirement from the sport. Nevertheless, he returned to the ring earlier this year, defeating Arslanbek Makhmudov and Mariusz Wach.

Now he looks for third opponent for the year, hoping for a response from Usyk. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian heavyweight champion last fought and won in May of this year against Rico Verhoeven, giving him decent amount of time to accept and prepare for a trilogy against Fury.

Bari is an experienced sportswriter at Gulf News and has been a sports fanatic all his life. He has years of experience covering Golf, Basketball and American Football. He watches all the sports with the hope of learning something from each of them. With an MBA background and expertise in content management, he aims to deliver every news to the audience that helps create interest in the sport for the reader as well. His passion and enthusiasm for the world of sports is what drew him to the journalistic journey.