David Haye has offered his thoughts on Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua’s long-awaited showdown, considering the effect of their lifestyle choices and boxing skills.
The two British heavyweights are set to collide later this year, just so long as Joshua comes through his tune-up fight against Kristian Prenga on July 25.
His last outing culminated in a destructive sixth-round finish over Jake Paul in December, preceding the tragic car crash where two of his closest friends lost their lives.
After being involved in the incident, ‘AJ’ spent the following few months recovering, both physically and emotionally, before eventually returning to train with Oleksandr Usyk.
Given, too, that his last meaningful contest ended in a fifth-round stoppage defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, Joshua is certainly due a warm-up fight before locking horns with Fury in November.
‘The Gypsy King’, meanwhile, ended a 16-month layoff by unanimously outpointing Arslanbek Makhmudov last month, returning for his first fight since suffering a second points defeat to Usyk.
Indeed, Fury’s career has at times been interrupted by periods away from the sport while dealing with issues outside the ring.
Because of this, former world cruiserweight champion Haye has told Tris Dixon that he is unsure whether the 37-year-old’s boxing skills will be enough to defeat Joshua.
“Is ‘AJ’ gonna dominate him; is Tyson Fury gonna outbox him? [Is] the lifestyle of Tyson Fury gonna finally catch up with him?
“The fact that [Joshua] treats his body like a temple, the fact that he looks after what he eats – he doesn’t take any drugs; he doesn’t drink – is that gonna come to pass?
“Maybe it’s going to be [about] who’s lived the best. I’d definitely say Tyson Fury has more boxing skill than Anthony Joshua – I’ve never seen ‘AJ’ stand [against] the ropes, slip and slide punches like I’ve seen Tyson Fury do. But maybe he might not need to.
“Who can fight at a pace; who can put their punches together?”
While Joshua’s contest with Prenga has been confirmed, we still await news on whether Fury will also enter an interim fight before they finally collide.