Tyson Fury had ‘bad distraction’ Anthony Joshua fight in his head before Usyk defeat – but it screams of WWE cash-grab

TYSON FURY went into the second Oleksandr Usyk defeat knowing he had a silly-money Anthony Joshua double act already banked - and he boxed like it.

SunSport sat down with Lennox Lewis - the last undisputed heavyweight king - the week before the Riyadh rerun.

And the 59-year-old confirmed the clear direction Saudi Arabia was taking the two giant Brits would be a hindrance for Fury, ahead of his must-win revenge mission.

“I think it is a bad distraction to have in your head”, Lewis told us, “My goal would just be to get the undisputed championship first, before thinking about anything else.

"That would be my goal, especially if he is 1-0 down.”

After another cautious performance - against a freakish talent - Fury is now 2-0 down to Ukraine’s generational genius, who holds the same score over AJ and beat Daniel Dubois into a 2023 surrender.

He can take his ancient sword, his London 2012 gold medal, his stuffed Eeyore toy, his undefeated record, his impish gap-tooth grin and his undisputed cruiserweight reign and vanish into the pantheon of boxing greats - of all weights and eras.

He can leave behind our also rans - fine big men of their time but neither able to dominate the little maverick - to ham up a cash-grab, with the script and cheques are already written by Saudi Arabia.

John Fury will return from the shadows, blame the corner for the loss and say his exile was the biggest problem, he will then attack AJ and his cheerleader Eddie Hearn, take his top off and headbutt some Riyadh Season sponsored scenery.

Hearn and Frank Warren will go head to head with their cash cows and milk British boxing’s casual crowd with tall tales about how their star attractions are not really fading forces who should have boxed years ago.

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David Haye bungled his attempt to push the product when he said: “I want to see Fury and Joshua now. They are both coming off losses and we have been waiting for it for some time now and there is no better time than right now. It is the biggest fight to be right now.”

It is the biggest and best fight to make right now - because neither of them has anything better on the table.

When they should have clashed in their primes, they both preferred their chances of beating a little leftie more suited to the 14st 4lbs division. They both come unstuck and now they need each other as a pension plan.

Hearn’s sales pitch was even more fanciful: “It’s not just the biggest fight in British boxing but the biggest fight in the sport.”

If he means by sheer tonnage he’s right. But after four clear points losses to Usyk, a violent knockout loss for AJ against Daniel Dubois and a dismal Fury showing against debutant Francis Ngannou where he nicked a split, it’s the heavyweight division’s version of the League Cup.

IBF king Dubois is a hotter property, Moses Itauma - who scored a sensational first-round knockout on the undercard - is the scorching prospect, even Fabio Wardley is the younger feel-good story with the British title and the can-do attitude.

Fury vs AJ is Hulk Hogan vs Mr Perfect when boxing’s Attitude Era of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock is ready and raring to rip through the old guard.

It will be fun, there will be blood and all the usual faces will get richer.
But there should be no belts and no phoney claims of the winner being back at No1.

It’s a late windfall both men richly deserve and, because Turki Alalshikh is at the helm, all the old rows over purse cuts, rematch clauses, poster positions and broadcasters are in the bin with Usyk’s doubters.

Hearn produced a splendid line when he claimed: “I will be pushing His Excellency (Alalshikh) to make the fight.”

The Essex matchmaker will be pushing nobody for anything, he’ll be bending over and pleading for it, like most of the casual fans who understandably want to see a 15-year domestic rivalry settled once and for all.

Truth be told, we are all up for it. We need to see the broken and outboxed versions of our heroes finally decide who is the best Brit behemoth since Lewis and Frank Bruno.

But please don’t waste your time trying to tell us it’s Ali v Frazier or Holyfield v Bowe.

It’s Joshua vs Fury or Fury vs Joshua - it’s overdue, it’s silly-lucrative and it’s fun. But it isn’t a patch - or a punch - on Usyk.