Anthony Joshua asks Tyson Fury to sign with Matchroom Boxing so that they can negotiate a fight

Unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has asked former world champion Tyson Fury to join him at Matchroom Boxing so that the two can arrange to fight each other.

Joshua will defend his WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO heavyweight titles against Joseph Parker in Cardiff this Saturday and has been linked to fights with both Fury and undefeated American heavyweight Deontay Wilder. The two parties were in touch late last year but a fight failed to materialise, while Fury, who has not fought in two-and-a-half years since defeating Wladimir Klitschko in Düsseldorf, edges closer to a comeback. Speaking to iFL TV after a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Joshua said that he wanted to fight Fury after he defeated Klitschko and that it would be a good fight if both camps could reach an agreement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3OVQtuzb7o

"Fury should sign with Matchroom," said Joshua. "I fought Klitschko at Wembley, Takam and now Parker. After the Klitschko fight, Wilder weren't calling me out, so I was calling out Fury: 'Tyson Fury, where you at baby!?' because that's who I was looking to fight after. "It would be a good fight if we can make that happen, that was a fight I was looking forward to, to be fair. Then Wilder was quiet saying 'I wish we had this in America!'"

Last week, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn told iFL TV that he attempted to sign Fury but that the 'Gypsy King' was only interested in fighting journeymen in his first few fights back in the ring.

“I was approached by his lawyer, we had different ideas of the opponents and the level of the opponents that he was going to come back to," said Hearn. "I know he needs to come back with a couple of easy fights, but there's easy fights and then there's fights that I'm just going to get absolutely crucified for. “We made them an offer, we had a chat and that was it. I don't expect that person to be us. "I don't think he's going to get necessarily the fights that he may have in mind with us. But listen, I don’t know if he’s made his decision, but I don’t think it’ll be with us.”