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.
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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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