Mike Tyson says things might go rough for anthony joshua if he embark on...

If Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua do finally meet in the ring this year, Mike Tyson has backed ‘The Gypsy King’ to get the last laugh.

The domestic rivals are on a collision course to settle their feud if they both win their upcoming fights in Saudi Arabia. Fury will look to become the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since 1999 when he meets Oleksandr Usyk on February 17th whilst Joshua aims to extend his unbeaten streak to four fights against former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on March 8.

Tyson admitted that ‘AJ’ might be the biggest puncher in the heavyweight division but explained why his power could be useless against Fury. “I love Joshua, but I think Tyson’s too elusive, he’s not going to hit him. We’re keeping it honest right? I like Joshua a lot and Joshua maybe punches harder than [Deontay] Wilder, but he doesn’t punch faster than Wilder.

“If he doesn’t punch faster than Wilder, he’s not going to f**king touch this guy. That’s just what I see. He punches hard, but he doesn’t punch fast. If Tyson Fury can get away from Wilder’s fast punches, then Joshua might be in trouble,” Tyson told Haute Living about the fight/

Tyson’s prediction came at a time when Fury and Joshua signed contracts for an undisputed fight, but an arbitration case meant Fury had to fight Wilder for the third time and Joshua went on to lose his world titles to Usyk. Joshua’s promoter Hearn is praying that Fury can get past Usyk next month to be one step closer to the undisputed domestic clash.

“The winner of this fight gets the winner of Fury vs Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight world championship. For Ngannou, he could become an undisputed champion in just his third fight,” Hearn told TNT Sports. “For us and AJ, we have dreamed about that for so many years. I said to him before the face-off, ‘Two wins and you are undisputed champion’.

“I believe he is going to do it, I really do. I believe he is going to beat Tyson Fury and I believe he is going to beat Tyson Fury. I love Oleksandr Usyk, but I will just say Tyson Fury you have to win this fight. Once he beats Ngannou, we have to make this fight happen. It’s so exciting for boxing we have a path and plan for brilliant fights.”