Tyson Fury’s promoter claims that Anthony Joshua is not among boxing’s elite heavyweights following his shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. Joshua suffered a devastating defeat by the American back in 2019, when he was floored four times before eventually being defeated in the seventh round.
In response to the defeat Joshua won a return bout six months later to win back his WBA, IBF, WBO AND IBO titles.
However, Bob Arum still believes the initial defeat carries a scar, and that it has damaged Joshua’s reputation, having labelled Ruiz a ‘non-puncher’. A bout between Fury and Joshua would be one of the most highly anticipated clashes in recent times and an August 14 meeting in the Middle East looked set to be confirmed before it was abandoned late on.