Tony Bellew admits Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury could be past their best, but believes the pair remain capable of staging a super fight this year.
Joshua told media in Nigeria this week that he is targeting a long-awaited showdown with Fury in 2025, who lost for a second time to Oleksandr Usyk last month in Riyadh.
Should a clash finally materialise, ‘AJ’ would also be coming off a defeat in his last fight to Daniel Dubois and while Bellew concedes that a clash may not be what it once could have been, the former cruiserweight world champion insists a potential bout remains one of the biggest to make in the sport.
“I don’t think that ship will ever sail,” the 42-year-old told the Express.
“You’re telling me you couldn’t stick 100,000 in Wembley to watch those two fight? I think you’d get 50,000 just at the press conference. It’s coming, it is on. It’s on the charts and it’s on the board.
“Everyone wants to see it.
“The sad part is that it will be when both are just slightly past their sell-by date, by the looks of it.
“It looks like it’s going to be [Floyd] Mayweather and [Manny] Pacquiao all over again. It’s been held back and held back.
“You have to remember, the only person who has signed up to these fights and hasn’t pulled out is Anthony Joshua.
“He signed to fight Fury, he signed to fight [Deontay] Wilder, he’s fought Usyk twice, he’s fought [Wladimir] Klitschko.
“All these people, he signed to fight and they pulled out on him.
“He signed to fight Tyson Fury and Fury had to pull out because of the arbitration from Wilder.
“He signed to fight Wilder and Wilder pulled out because of the mess he was in with Fury.
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“It is what it is. It’s a mess, really, but 100 per cent that fight will happen one day. It’s huge.
“It’s a massive blockbuster event and it will probably go down as the biggest domestic boxing match ever.”
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn is targeting a May or June return for the 35-year-old, who is also looking to become a three-time heavyweight world champion.
Fury, 36, has reportedly told friends his career is not over after his second successive loss to Usyk.
