Anthony Joshua makes claim about heavyweight rival Tyson Fury's mental health

23 October 2023 , 15:00

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Anthony Joshua makes claim about heavyweight rival Tyson Fury's mental health

Anthony Joshua believes Tyson Fury still has "mental issues" having overcoming his struggles with addiction and mental health after winning his first world title.

The Watford native has had a long-standing feud with Fury since they both reigned atop the heavyweight division, but the pair rarely spend any time in the same vicinity. And despite multiple deals being agreed, they have never been able to get in the ring to settle the feud, particularly with Joshua losing three of his title fights.

However, that hasn't stopped the Olympic gold medalist from working towards a fight between the pair, with Joshua claiming that he takes lessons from his rival's Netflix reality show. At Home With The Furys was one of the year's biggest TV hits, and even his rival has admitted the show is an entertaining watch.

"I like it. I like his kid - they’re so funny. His wife is loyal, so supportive," Joshua told Men's Health. "I am partly watching it because it gives me an insight that maybe I can use if we do fight... How you can change his mood. They say I am mentally weak. He definitely has mental issues. 100 per cent. It’s like going to war.

"In the heat of a fight, you’re not going to be thinking, ‘Ah, that bit in episode seven of the Netflix series…' But, it does give the psychologists a chance to understand him more. We separate the elements of a fight. You have the fight strategy, then you have psychological warfare and then you have things like, ‘Shall I wear red?’ to signal danger, all these different things. So something like the TV thing won’t help me in the fight but it might help in the lead-up."

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Joshua has returned to winning ways lately after two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk between 2021 and 2022. He struggled to a decision win over Jermaine Franklin back in April before knocking out Robert Helenius at The O2 Arena in a short-notice replacement fight in August; his first stoppage since December of 2020.

But he will need to remain active if he wants to face Fury, who will first take on Francis Ngannou on Saturday night before finally taking on Usyk in the first unification fight at heavyweight in the four-belt era. The British duo's fight would still be a huge pay-per-view hit, although it remains to be seen if Joshua will be able to make it to the bout without another defeat.

Donagh Corby