Like the majority of Brits, Amir Khan wants to see Tyson Fury come out of retirement to face Anthony Joshua.
The two rivals have never made it through the ropes together despite walking similar paths to heavyweight glory, often simultaneously.
Although both men have been relieved of their championship belts by elite Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, the long-awaited clash looked more likely than ever this year with no mandatory commitments, rematch clauses or world title shots on the horizon.
That was until Fury – who was beaten twice in 2024 by Usyk – announced his retirement in January. It left Joshua, coming off a bruising knockout loss to Daniel Dubois, without a big fight on the horizon and now searching for an alternative opponent.
Speaking to the Lancashire Post, former world champion Khan – who had his own all-British showdown with Kell Brook in 2022 – said that fans would see a full twelve should the pair manage to sign the fight, revealing that he backs Fury if his confidence is intact.
“It’ll be a good, close fight. I think it will go the distance, but it will be good to see because both fighters are at a good level. Anthony Joshua has had some good wins (before Daniel Dubois) and looked really good and revived.
“Then you look at Tyson Fury. He has to be in that type of position to make it a close fight with Anthony Joshua. If Fury is still at the top and has all of the confidence, then I think Fury wins that fight all day long. But with the last two fights, it’s even and is a 50/50 fight now.”
Though ‘AJ’s most recent defeat was much less competitive than that of ‘The Gypsy King’s, Khan advised the Morecambe man to have a tune-up fight before the blockbuster clash.
“Mentally, Fury may have been really impacted and that’s normal. I’m not talking bad about him but it’s normal and happened to me.
“When I had that fight loss against Lamont Peterson, mentally I was done. Even though I knew I was a better fighter than Danny Garcia, he beat me and knocked me out. I was outboxing him and destroying him but it’s life.
“I feel Fury needs to come back and have one or two fights and then take the AJ fight. But knowing Fury with the b**** he has got, he will want to jump straight into that fight which would be very hard.”
Joshua is expected to make a decision on his next opponent soon, with promoter Eddie Hearn eyeing a Dubois rematch should Fury stay retired. However, ‘DDD’ has sights set on an undisputed clash with Usyk, perhaps leaving Joshua out in the cold.
