Anthony Joshua already back in sparring and training as he closes in on Battle of Britain fight with Tyson Fury
ANTHONY JOSHUA is already back in sparring as he closes in on a Battle of Britain bout with Tyson Fury.
The 32-year-old has accepted a 60/40 purse split in the Gypsy King’s favour to fight the WBC heavyweight champ before the end of the year.
Joshua’s much-anticipated bout with Fury is expected to go ahead on December 3 – with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium favourite to host the fight.
Despite having gone 12 rounds with Oleksandr Usyk less than three weeks ago, AJ is already back in training.
The British star sparred with former cruiserweight champion Richard Riakporhe at Loughborough University’s facilities.
After their session, Riakporhe posted a series of snaps of himself in the ring with Joshua.
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He captioned them: “No retreat, no surrender no quit in our blood.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn offered an update on negotiations with Fury’s camp last night.
He said: “We’ve accepted the terms in principle, there’s not a lot more to go in the agreement.
“The broadcasters – DAZN and BT – have got to get together and make that happen, which they’re all saying, the basis of sharing the pay per view is not a problem.
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“So I actually think that we’ll be OK. I think it’s just with Fury you just never know.
“He could decide now I don’t fancy fighting this year or retire again, or is this a ploy to get the Saudis to pay more money to bring in Usyk?
“I don’t know. But all I can go on is what I’m being told by George Warren, which is 100 per cent they want this fight.”
Trainer Robert Garcia would have liked AJ to have two or three more fights before stepping back up to elite level against Fury.
The American is eager to train Joshua to reclaim heavyweight champion status – and would like him to come to his gym in California for his camp.
Like Hearn, however, Garcia is also wary of Fury’s motives.
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He told : “For me, if you want to know what I think: I think Fury is doing all this to put pressure on Usyk to make the unification.
“It’s a great fight, and I also think Fury started talking. And they have talked about it with Joshua ‘s team, because they told me about it, but it could be part of the strategy of putting pressure on Usyk and thinking that he is losing the opportunity.”
