The two British heavyweights were set to go head-to-head this Summer before a US court ordered Fury to face Deontay Wilder for a third time.
With Fury and Wilder set to meet on July 24 in Las Vegas for the WBC heavyweight title, Joshua will now face WBO mandatory challenger Oleksander Usyk in late September at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the WBA and IBF titles also on the line.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Joshua was quick to blame Fury, but insists that he will still face the self-proclaimed Gypsy King in the near future.
‘Unfortunately his team let the whole boxing world down.’ Joshua said.
‘I will still be here, still ready to put on a show.’
‘End of the year. Let me get past Usyk first. But with or without Usyk in my life, I will fight Fury.’
‘Usyk doesn't determine the Fury fight. The Fury fight has to happen. It's a big fight, bigger than boxing, bigger than the belts.’
While Fury was quick to dismiss the threat posed by his British rival, Joshua revealed that everything was in place for the two to meet before the plug was pulled.
‘We did everything. During a global pandemic, the toughest time to organise a fight like that, we managed to have 20,000 fans available, a site fee, the media ready, my name was on the contract, I was in training.’
‘Then boom, they cancelled.’
There may be disappointment amongst boxing fans with any hopes of the fight taking place this year extinguished, but Joshua is ready to face Fury when the time comes.
‘I stay ready to fight them all because I'm a throwback fighter.’