Anthony Joshua has commended Tyson Fury for demanding £500million to return to the ring.
Fury knocked out fellow Briton Dillian Whyte at London’s Wembley Stadium in April, retaining the WBC heavyweight title and remaining unbeaten with the victory.
Fury, 33, then suggested that he would not compete again in a professional bout, though he recently said he would only return for £500m or $500m. He is also yet to vacate his title.
Boxing fans are eager to see the “Gypsy King” take on the winner of Joshua’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, and “AJ” was asked about his compatriot’s apparent retirement on Wednesday.
“What do you want me to say? ‘No, he should only get £100m,’” Joshua said in an interview with iFL TV.
“Well done, talk your s***! If you want £500m or £1billion, talk your s***. You might get it. Speak it into existence. If that’s what he wants, someone throw up the dough.
“I rate it, you’ve got to speak it into existence.”
Joshua lost the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles to Usyk in London last September, and the 32-year-old will try to regain the gold in a rematch with the unbeaten Ukrainian in Saudi Arabia in August.
Joshua said he feels that the winner of that bout could still one day face Fury, though he also said fans should ‘respect’ the WBC champion’s next move – whatever it may be.
“If someone calls him out, he’ll come out for a couple of fights, why not?” Joshua said. “Come out for a couple good scraps, why not?
“He’s still involved in the fight game. Retirement doesn’t mean that you’re completely done, it probably just means: ‘Right now I just need to retire, take some time out.’
“Everyone’s different, but at the same time… as much as we all believe he’ll come back, let’s respect his decision as well. You know what I’m trying to say? If that’s the case…”
