Liam Smith believes Tyson Fury could beat Anthony Joshua before stepping through the ropes – if the British heavyweight duo were to finally face off. The former light-middleweight champion is confident the super-fight is yet to surpass its expiry date as the Scouser raised doubts about AJ’s prospects if he was to step up to the challenge.
Fury has continuously chased the fight in recent times but he decided to move on after Joshua and his camp delayed the signing of the fight contract.
Instead, the Gypsy King is now focusing on winning the final belts in the division via an unmissable undisputed showdown with Oleksandr Usyk.
Nonetheless, given Joshua and Fury are two of the most popular fighters in British boxing history, Smith claims there is still an appetite for the fight as he backed the WBC champion to mentally crush his rival.
“Yeah it could happen. They’re still both young heavyweights,” Smith said on Sky Sports during coverage of Liverpool versus Leicester.
“It’s got to happen. It might not happen next or in the next six to eight months but it will happen.
“It’s a great fight for the British public but you’d have to go with Fury.
“He doesn’t know how to lose. He’s psychologically so strong.
“Joshua has mental vulnerabilities and Tyson could probably beat him before he stepped into the ring to be honest with you.”
Barry Hearn is confident we will see Joshua against Fury in 2023 – potentially for all the belts.
He told Sky Sports: “The fight we all want to see eventually is AJ against Fury.
“You’ll get stories, Tyson will say the fight is never going to happen, Joshua will say he’d rather fight Dillian White. Forget all of that.
“This fight has to happen, and I think it does happen at the tail-end of 2023, for all the marbles.”
Joshua is currently in the United States attempting to find a new trainer for his next bout.
AJ is considering parting company with Robert Garcia after just one fight with the California-based trainer, who was in his corner for the Usyk rematch.
Fury, meanwhile, is heading towards a super-fight with Usyk which could land as soon as March in 2023 following his one-sided battering of Derek Chisora.
Should the Usyk fight fail to materialise, Joe Joyce has been named as a willing contender for the Gypsy King, who has already promised The Juggernaut that he will get a shot at his title if he waits his turn.