'People want to see me fail' - Anthony Joshua ready for war with Fury

Anthony Joshua has warned Tyson Fury and his doubters that he is ready to turn his frustration into fuel ahead of their long-awaited Battle of Britain.

The former heavyweight champion believes some of the people behind the blockbuster December clash would rather see him lose, and he has promised to respond with a ruthless performance.

Joshua has reportedly stood his ground over plans for the fight to be staged in the UK rather than at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where Netflix could have used the event to strengthen its presence in the American market.

Dana White was reportedly involved in the proposal, while Fury is also preparing a third series of his At Home with the Furys show for Netflix.

There was even a serious threat to the fight after Joshua’s contract required him to enter the Vada drug-testing programme immediately after signing in April. Fury, with no suggestion of wrongdoing, only enrolled in the protocol on Monday night.

Despite Joshua’s role in helping establish Saudi Arabia as a major force in boxing from 2019, Fury has since become a central figure in the kingdom’s boxing plans.

Asked by SunSport whether he believes the event bosses want him to lose, Joshua gave a blunt response. “Yes. I believe that, yeah.”

The 36-year-old then revealed the mentality he plans to take into the ring, adding, “If you f*** with me and you want to see me lose, I will f*** you up even more. It’s like that now.”

The tension between the heavyweight rivals has intensified despite Fury describing Joshua as a role model and poster boy for boxing at Wednesday’s press conference.

Just a month earlier, Fury had reposted a 2020 video of Joshua reading part of a speech following the murder of George Floyd. Joshua believes such material can be used to damage a fighter’s reputation and accused Fury of taking things too far.

“A lot of these things are used to try to demonise your character, to a degree. He just chose to go as low as that, so be it, I will take it with a pinch of salt,” Joshua said.

Joshua also explained the context behind the controversial speech, insisting he was standing up against what happened to Floyd rather than attempting to divide people.

“I joined a rally, because a lot was expected of me, and I read a speech that was written by someone else and it was only as I was reading it that I was realising what I was saying.”

With the December 11 showdown at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium fast approaching, Joshua has also reunited with Fury’s former trainer Ben Davison.

The British-Nigerian believes he can take lessons from his defeats by Oleksandr Usyk into the biggest fight of his career, including an insight into Fury’s mindset from his former rival’s book. Now Joshua appears determined to turn every perceived slight into motivation when he finally shares the ring with Fury.