Anthony Joshua referred to as out Tyson Fury and confirmed he could be preventing once more this summer time as he marked his return to the ring with a unanimous determination victory over Jermaine Franklin on Saturday evening.
The previous two-time world heavyweight champion seemed understandably nervy however largely dominated proceedings towards a troublesome Franklin in what marked his first outing since shedding his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk final August.
It marked the start of what has been deemed a brand new chapter for Joshua as he seeks to re-establish himself again among the many world’s title-holding heavyweights.
He wasted no time after the ultimate bell in reiterating his curiosity in an all-British showdown towards Tyson Fury.
Picture:
Joshua appears to land a proper hand on Franklin (Image By Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
“I try to present for the followers, I do know who the followers need – who do the followers need? They mentioned Fury, yeah? The ball is in his courtroom,” Joshua mentioned on the DAZN broadcast.
“I might be 100 per cent honoured to compete for the WBC Championship of the world.
“I stand right here and say that proudly, that will be an honour.
“Wherever you might be, if you’re listening, you understand my administration, you understand my promoter, we have had dialogue earlier than so let’s proceed this and hopefully we are able to get this completed sooner slightly than later. We don’t get any youthful.
“I am unable to wait to get again to Texas, develop and push on as a result of there is a greater battle, you know the way one battle leads onto one other, I am unable to wait to get the following massive battle.”
Questions proceed to loom over the heavyweight division as an entire in mild of talks over a potential undisputed conflict between Fury and Usyk breaking down. Whereas Joe Joyce has emerged as a possible opponent for Fury, Usyk is seemingly heading in direction of a gathering with obligatory WBA challenger Daniel Dubois.
Apart from Fury, Joshua has additionally been linked to a different battle towards outdated rival Dillian Whyte, who was in attendance to look at the Olympic champion in London on Saturday evening, in addition to Deontay Wilder, who was notably bumped as much as No 1 within the WBA rankings over the weekend.