Anthony Joshua has been told that his punch resistance is 'shot' ahead of his planned all-British heavyweight clash with long-time rival Tyson Fury. The pair are expected to meet in the ring later this year, with rumours suggesting the bout could take place on November 20 at Madison Square Garden, though an official date and venue have not been announced.
Both fighters won tune-up fights last month. Fury forced Mariusz Wach to quit in a behind-closed-doors encounter in Thailand. Joshua was dropped twice in the opening round by Kristian Prenga before stopping the Albanian in the second stanza.
Shane Fury questions Joshua's durability
Speaking on the Fight Your Corner podcast with Tony Bellew, Fury's brother Shane said: 'I've always felt that AJ's style fell into Tyson's comfort zone. The way Tyson used to box, okay? The man who fought Klitschko, for an example, for me, AJ wouldn't have landed a glove on him. Okay, that man now is gone. I've never seen that for years from Tyson.'
Shane Fury added: 'Even though I've felt Tyson boxed well against Usyk the first time he came in light, and he boxed well, but that was probably the last time we've seen it. But I believe that's gone from Tyson. And if he can do it, I don't know if he could do it for 12 rounds. Okay. But we're looking at the stage where I believe both men are. I don't think Tyson needs to do that now.'
Bellew agrees with assessment
Bellew responded: 'Listen, what Shane just said there, I agree with it 100 times over. That version of Tyson Fury that got in with Klitschko, the one that can move for 12 rounds, that can nullify you and negate you. No, AJ is not going to beat him. I agree, and I said this before. I don't want to comment anymore on Tyson and on AJ and Fury because you don't know if it's happening. I'm sick of it. You don't know which fighter stands where. And I said one thing I will say is this: this is the best chance AJ's ever had of beating Tyson Fury right now.'
Shane Fury said: 'Yeah, I'd say so. But the issue is after the Makhmudov fight, after the fight, I've done 10 interviews afterwards, and I said quite clearly on you. I said the stage where they are now because, even though that was a good performance for Tyson, it was a solid performance, but that was not a vintage Tyson performance.'
Confidence in Fury's victory
After watching Fury's win over Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, Shane Fury expressed confidence in his brother's chances. 'I think all heavyweight men can punch. I've never come across one who can't punch, and I also believe that there's a difference in power. You can have a really good knockout man at British level, and when he steps up, he's not a puncher at all. I think, from punch resistance, I think AJ is shot,' he said.
'If he hits you before you hit him, you're done. And we're not under any illusions with that. Listen, he's a good, good finisher. He can put his punches together. Listen, he's a two-time world champion. But I just feel that I put the fight originally as a 50/50. But after Makhmudov, I just think that Tyson's going to hit him. And what we've seen in the last two proper fights, when he gets hit with a solid shot, you see something happen, he doesn't have to be knocked down or knocked on the floor, but you can see a reaction. So yeah, we're confident. Is the fight happening too late? Probably is.'
