Top Rank Owner Skeptical About Anthony Joshua Fighting Tyson Fury

Coming off back-to-back losses against Oleksandr Usyk, former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is looking for a way to bounce back, which has led his camp to target a marquee fight against Tyson Fury.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who represents "The Gypsy King" in the United States, is highly doubtful that Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn truly want a fight with Fury due to the complicated negotiations that they have had with one another.

"We've been exchanging documents with Matchroom. We don't think that Hearn wants to make that fight. We really don't think he wants to make that fight. We're giving him every opportunity to make that fight. And if we can't make it very shortly, Fury will fight somebody else," Arum told BoxingScene.com.

The 90-year-old promoter noted that Hearn would not want to put their golden goose in a dangerous fight with Fury since the latter "will knock Joshua out."

The second match with Usyk saw an improved Joshua compared to the first, but "The Cat" was simply too much for "AJ" to overcome as the British puglist lost the fight by split decision.

Joshua's rant after the fight drew headlines for the wrong reasons as fans saw it as him trying to undermine the Ukrainian fighter's time in the spotlight, which he later attributed to his emotions.

As for Fury, he announced his retirement from the sport after coming out victorious against Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight last October 2021 and Dillian Whyte this past April.

Earlier this month though, Fury announced that he is open to fighting Joshua in a conversation with iFL TV.

BoxingScene.com later added that Arum refused to name who is next in line for Fury if the Joshua deal falls through.

"Joshua's very suspect now and very tentative... I don't think he's gonna do it. I think he's just [expletive] around with the Warrens. We talk with the Warrens every day because we're partners [on Fury], but we're letting them carry the ball," Arum mentioned.

Fury vs. Joshua would still be a major draw despite the latter's current run of form simply because of the name alone.

For the undefeated Manchester, England native, it is going to be a low-risk fight since he has all of the perceived advantages against Joshua and it will be up to the former Olympic gold medalist to prove he still belongs in the upper echelon of the heavyweight division.