Teddy Atlas isn’t sold on the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury hype, and he’s not expecting either man to be tested this weekend.
The two British heavyweights are finally on a collision course after years of failed negotiations, but first they have tune-ups against overmatched opposition. Fury faces 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in a charity bout in Thailand, while Joshua meets Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Atlas, speaking with BoxingScene, doesn’t anticipate any drama in either, and he’s blunt about what the eventual Fury-Joshua showdown really is.
To the veteran trainer, the mega-fight is being built on nostalgia and paydays rather than stakes, arriving years after it would have meant the most. Both men are coming off the canvas of their careers, Fury off back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk before a comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov, and Joshua rebuilding after a brutal knockout loss to Daniel Dubois and a crossover bout with Jake Paul.
“It’s definitely a money grab,” Atlas said. “Joshua is two fights on from being knocked out badly against Dubois, Fury has lost a couple of times to Usyk, and both of them have lost their most significant fights of recent times.
“There is no arguing that both of them have slippage in their performances and in their careers at this point in their lives. They are not spring chickens anymore. They have been in tough fights, and it shows.”
Still, the money is undeniable. Promoter Eddie Hearn has floated nine-figure purses for each man if the fight lands, which is exactly why it continues to inch closer despite both fighters being well past their primes. For Atlas, that’s the whole problem: it’s a business transaction dressed up as a sporting event.
If Fury and Joshua both come through their assignments as expected, the long-awaited all-British clash is expected to follow later this year.
