ANTHONY JOSHUA is so desperate to ‘smoke’ his enemy Tyson Fury he is even willing to ditch all the marbles to do so.
AJ is the current WBA, IBF and WBO champion with Fury’s WBC title the only missing crown from his heavyweight collection.
Joshua’s long-standing dream has been to reign as the first-ever, four-belt champion in the blue riband division.
But after years of back-and-forths with rival Fury, British bragging rights could even outweigh a place in the undisputed history books.
Joshua told Sky Sports’ Gary Neville: “Without the belts? I rate that. That’s what I’m talking about. We’ll fight, 100 per cent, let’s do it.
“I’ll smoke that guy. I will. It’s annoying. For me, I don’t really get into the Twitter back and forth, because it’s Twitter fingers.
“Anyone can sit behind a computer and talk. Let’s be real, let’s be honest. Let’s let the people know.
“You’re the one that let the fans down, because everyone seems to think.
“I fought on December 12th. When they were like, ‘Who do you want to fight next?’ I said I don’t want to call out any names.
“And I know because I’m going to start shouting out people’s names and I’m going to be in this position now where the guys’ name I’m shouting out doesn’t want to fight or he’s not ready to fight.”
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Terms for Joshua, 31, to fight Fury, 32, were all-but agreed for August 14 in Saudi Arabia – until it fell apart at the 11th hour.
It came as Fury was ordered to fight Deontay Wilder, 35, in a contracted trilogy bout after the American took his case to arbitration.
Now, those two rematch once more on October 9, while Joshua faces mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk, 34, on September 25 at Tottenham’s stadium.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed – should AJ and Fury prevail in their interim fights – the Battle of Britain could be salvaged for February 2022.
And Joshua, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, promised as long as he is champ, boxing fans WILL get to see the one they have waited so long for.
He said: “He’s a fighter isn’t he. What’s the worst that can happen? You get hit. He’s been doing it for years.
“However, I just know on my end, and my management team and my promoter – we done everything we can to make this happen and as long as I’m champion, I’ll compete with anyone.
“I’ve got a tough challenger coming up now. A great fighter.”
