Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua: Teddy Atlas picks winner for all-British showdown

There was plenty of excitement amongst boxing fans at the start of 2025 with it looking likely that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua would finally meet inside the ring.

With both men seemingly out of the world title picture and the curtain beginning to come down on two memorable careers, it looked like a Battle of Britain would be the perfect way to bow out of boxing.

However, these plans were thrown into disarray after Fury announced last week his decision to retire.

While this did produce a shock, many within boxing are taking this news with a pinch of salt with Fury known for reversing numerous retirement decisions in the past.

Some have even decided to applaud Fury as he uses retirement as a negotiation tactic to get a bigger purse for a showdown with AJ.

Regardless of whether this fight materialises, it is still a hotly debated topic with renowned boxing analyst Teddy Atlas the latest to make his pick when it comes to finding a winner.

“Whoever has more left of themselves, who didn’t leave more of themselves in the ring,” Atlas told CanadaCasino.ca.

“In the last few fights AJ left a lot of himself in the ring. You leave parts of yourself in the ring. He’s a gutsy guy. He had a great career. Obviously everyone loves him. But a part of him was left in the ring.

“Part of Tyson Fury was left in the ring in those [Deontay] Wilder fights. We forget. It removed a little bit from him.  Also that first [Oleksandr] Usyk. That ninth round, he left parts of himself in that ring.”

“That’s what it’ll come down to now. I if I was to venture, Joshua has more physically left, but Fury to me was always stronger mentally, and I have to stick by what I’ve said forever. I think that at the end it’s 75% mental, and if that shows itself to be true, then I would go with Fury always being a little stronger on the mental side than Joshua.

“I think Joshua is a gutsy guy. I think he showed a lot coming back and facing the devil after he got knocked out by [Andy] Ruiz, he changed his style. He did what he had to do, but he faced the devil. He came back in that fight. He’s shown a strong constitution, a strong mental toughness to do that. There’s no doubt about that. But at the at the same time, Fury’s mentality has been really his greatest strength”

Fury may be done with the sport of boxing, but Joshua certainly is not and according to his promoter Eddie Hearn, there are seven possible opponents for the Olympian, with an official announcement yet to be made.

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Eddie Hearn: Anthony Joshua Silent After Tyson Fury’s Shock Retirement Announcement

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that Anthony Joshua has remained quiet following Tyson Fury’s sudden announcement of retirement.

The news came on Monday when Fury, known as the ‘Gypsy King,’ declared he was stepping away from boxing after suffering a defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last month.

“Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet,” Fury said in his retirement post.

“I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing. It has been a blast, I’ve loved every single minute of it, and I’m going to end with this: Dick Turpin wore a mask.”

The announcement has sent shockwaves through the boxing world, seemingly putting an end to the possibility of a long-anticipated clash between Fury and Joshua.

The fight, touted as a historic £150 million event, was expected to take place in 2025, offering both fighters a chance to restore their legacies following recent defeats.

Despite the buzz, Hearn shared that Joshua has not reacted to the news and remains focused on his own career.

Speaking to iFL TV, Hearn said, “Listen, one… we don’t really take it too seriously. Two… if it is serious, there’s nothing we can do about it anyway.”

“What do you think goes on? Do you think Josh is going to phone me up and go, ‘Oh Ed, have you seen the news, mate?’ He’s not that kind of guy.”

When asked if he had received any word from Joshua since Fury’s announcement, Hearn responded, “Not one,” before speculating on Fury’s intentions:

“He could have been doing it because he’s got the ump. He could have been doing it for some attention. He could have been doing it because it’s true. What’s the point in guessing?”

Former world champion George Groves believes Tyson Fury will come out of retirement to face Anthony Joshua in a blockbuster heavyweight clash, The PUNCH reports.

Fury announced his retirement on Monday following back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk, but Groves suspects it’s a negotiation tactic rather than a final decision.

“I reckon it’s a negotiation tactic, maybe it’s a mind game thing with Anthony Joshua,” Groves told SunSport.

“I mean there probably is a significant part of him that thinks, ‘Oh I want to retire.’ And he might be speaking it into existence. But I don’t think he wants to retire.”

Former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has announced his retirement from boxing following consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk. The announcement comes just two days after Anthony Joshua expressed interest in facing Fury in a long-anticipated British heavyweight clash.

Fury, 36, suffered his first loss to Usyk via a split decision on May 18, and a unanimous decision defeat in their rematch on December 21, both held in Saudi Arabia. The initial loss cost Fury multiple heavyweight championships, and his rematch defeat fueled speculation about his future in the sport.

In a video posted on Instagram, Fury confirmed his decision to retire from boxing.

“I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing. It’s been a blast. I have loved every single minute of it and I’m going to end with this—Dick Turpin wore a mask!”

This is not the first time “The Gypsy King” has announced his retirement. In April 2022, after defeating Dillian Whyte, Fury declared he would be hanging up his gloves, only to return six months later to fight Derek Chisora in a trilogy bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, expressed his support for the decision, telling Sky Sports:
“Good luck to him, God bless him. I’m thrilled for him. I’ve been saying since his last fight, whatever he chooses to do, I support him 100 percent.”

The retirement is a setback for Anthony Joshua, who had recently reiterated his determination to fight Fury in 2025, declaring, “It’s a fight I want to see because I am a fan of boxing. When I am in the gym, everyone is asking me [about this fight]. I ain’t got many years ahead of me. I want to leave the game with a bang and make an impact.”

Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, called Fury’s decision “disappointing for British fight fans” but cast doubt on its permanence, adding, “I hope the Joshua-Fury fight can still happen.”

Fury retires as a two-time heavyweight world champion, having first won the title by defeating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. After a three-year hiatus, he returned to beat Deontay Wilder in their 2020 rematch to claim the WBC title. Fury successfully defended his crown against Wilder again in 2021 and later against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora in 2022.

He survived a dramatic challenge against Francis Ngannou in 2023 before falling to Usyk twice last year. Despite the disappointment of his final bouts, Fury’s legacy as one of the most iconic heavyweight champions of this generation remains intact.

For now, boxing fans will have to wait to see if Fury’s latest retirement truly marks the end of his storied career.

Anthony Joshua admits hopes for ‘big’ fight with Tyson Fury in 2025 – ‘It has to happen this year’

All eyes are on Tyson Fury’s next move after last month’s defeat to Oleksandr Usyk. ‘The Gypsy King’ has insisted there is more to come despite his second career defeat, and Anthony Joshua has now set his sights on a clash with Fury later this year. Joshua insisted he and his team “can definitely make this fight happen”, revealing how he has got back on track after taking a break from boxing.

There has been incessant talk since about the prospect of a clash between Fury and Joshua, and the latter has now added more fuel to the fire.

“It’s a fight that I want to see,” Joshua said at The Ring Magazine Awards. “I’m a fan of boxing so I want to get that fight underway.

“When I’m in the gym everyone’s asking me, and the reason why I decided to do some interesting stuff is because I ain’t got many years ahead of me. I’ve had more years behind me.

“So what I want to do is leave the game with a bang and make an impact, be outlandish, great character, have fun with it while we’re doing it and go for the big fights, and Tyson Fury is one of them.

“Every time I see people they say ‘When are you fighting Fury?’. We’re talking about the Irish community, the English community, the Nigerian community, everyone’s asking me the same question.

“As a fighter, it’s up to me to deliver, and that’s why I’m saying it has to happen this year. Especially with His Excellency, Turki [Alalshikh], DAZN, Eddie [Hearn], Matchroom, and 258 behind me, we can definitely make this fight happen.”

Heavyweight Anthony Joshua says a fight with Tyson Fury “has to happen this year” as he looks to book his next bout.

A fight between the two British rivals has been spoken about for years, but has never come to fruition.

But with both men coming back from defeats in world title fights, Joshua confirmed Fury was the opponent he wanted to face next.

“It’s a fight I want to see because I am a fan of boxing. When I am in the gym, everyone is asking me [about this fight]. I ain’t got many years ahead of me. I want to leave the game with a bang and make an impact,” Joshua said.

“Everyone is asking me the same question. It’s up to me to deliver, that’s why I’m saying it has to happen this year.

“I think we can make this fight happen.”

Joshua was speaking at the Ring Magazine awards in London, where Oleksandr Usyk was also in attendance.

While speaking about Fury, Joshua admitted no talks had yet taken place with Fury’s team about a potential fight.

Fury lost to unified world champion Usyk in December while Joshua was stopped by IBF title holder Daniel Dubois in his most recent outing in September.

Chris Eubank Jr was also in attendance alongside his own rival Conor Benn.

Benn and Eubank Jr have held lengthy talks about their fight ever since Benn’s anti-doping suspension was officially lifted in November.

The camps have disagreed about the purse split, but Eubank Jr says the bout remains on track to happen in 2025.

“That fight will happen,” Eubank Jr said.

“We’re in negotiations and they are going very well. We’re at the last few things we’ve got to smooth out and then the fight will get announced. So yeah, big things are happening very soon.”