Tyson Fury has played down the significance of Anthony Joshua’s defeat to Daniel Dubois, claiming he could also have been on the receiving end of the shock defeat at Wembley.
Dubois pulled off an upset in front of 96,000 people on Saturday night as he demolished Joshua in five rounds.
Joshua was the strong favourite to beat Dubois in the first defence of his IBF heavyweight title, but has now faced calls to retire from boxing after taking such heavy punishment from the 27-year-old.
Fury, however, has dismissed suggestions that Joshua should step away from the sport and believes credit should be given to Dubois for his performance.
‘He did a very good job and fair play to young Dan,’ Fury, who was sat ringside at Wembley, said after the fight.
‘Everybody wrote him off, you know. Coming here he was the world champion and everybody treat him like he was a bum and he showed what he’s made of and it’s very good for him, fantastic, fair play.
‘It’s heavyweight boxing, it happens, you get knocked spark out, it could’ve been me, could’ve been you, could’ve been anybody, in the heavyweight division that’s what happens, one punch from being smashed, knocked out.
‘I think what went wrong [for Joshua] is what always goes wrong in heavyweight boxing, a good right-hander on the end of the chin, and that was it.’
Asked if Joshua can come back from his defeat to Dubois, Fury replied: ‘I don’t know, it’s up to the man, whatever he wants to do.
‘If he’s got a good ambition to come back and do what he’s got to do.
‘I thought it was a 50-50 fight, Dubois is a lot younger, 27-year-old, the other man is 34, same age as me, age don’t wait for anybody does it?
‘Listen, you get caught with those punches, you don’t see many heavyweights get hit, get knocked down, get back up and continue on do you?’
Asked for his plans for the Usyk fight in December, Fury replied: ‘I’ve got to fight my man and I’m going to take all my belts back once again, guarantee you.
‘I’ll get that [the IBF title] back as well. When I fight Usyk in December and beat him, I’ll get all the belts I should never have lost and then I’ll fight Dubois and take it off him as well.’