PAAnthony Joshua has responded to a subtle dig made by Tyson Fury during his fight against Deontay Wilder.
Having ended Wilder’s reign as WBC heavyweight world champ, Fury’s phenomenal seventh round victory in Las Vegas has left sports commentators in awe of his boxing prowess.
However, it turned out to be Fury’s mouth guard which sparked the most conversation online; with many regarding it to have been a subtle yet very pointed dig at fellow British heavyweight Joshua.
PAEagle eyed fans watching the fight couldn’t help but notice that Fury, 31, had been wearing a green and white mouthguard bearing the word ‘Nigeria’.
It’s since been speculated that this had been a deliberate jibe at Joshua, 30, who has Nigerian ancestry, and with whom he has been striving to set a fight up with for quite a while.
And it would appear that Joshua had been watching the fight closely. Taking to Instagram, he dropped some intriguing and potentially meaningful hints which appeared to address the most talked about gumshield in recent times.
Two notable pics appeared on Joshua’s story following Fury’s victory. The first photo showed Joshua and a group of soldiers holding his belt, captioned ‘Gladiators’. The second, captioned ‘Gladiator’, zoomed in on Fury’s face, gumshield fully visible.
anthonyjoshua/InstagramMany have suggested this could be Joshua’s cryptic way of finally putting forward his interest in fighting the Gypsy King.
Fury has been far more open about his enthusiasm on this front, making the following post-fight comments to Behind The Gloves:
If Deontay don’t want the rematch, then let’s go AJ.
[…] I beat Wladimir Klitschko in Germany, I beat Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles and came back and did it again in Las Vegas. Say no more.
Two-time Ring Magazine champion of the world, only the second man in history. WBC heavyweight champion and lineal heavyweight champion of the world. Number one baby, that’s it.
You can watch the full interview with Fury below:
Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, who promotes Joshua, has also expressed keen interest in seeing Fury and Joshua finally face each other in the ring.
Taking to Twitter, Hearn appeared to encourage Fury to forego the third instalment with Wilder, instead taking on his fellow Brit:
No need for a third let’s go straight to it in the Summer! #undisputed.
No need for a third let’s go straight to it in the Summer! #undisputed
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) February 23, 2020
Wilder now has 30 days to trigger a trilogy fight. Speaking about his disappointed opponent, Fury declared he had ‘showed the heart of champion, but the king has returned’.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.