Anthony Joshua is not ready to face Tyson Fury in his next fight.
That’s the opinion of his new trainer Iegor Golub, who was in the corner for Joshua’s sixth round knockout win against Jake Paul over the weekend.
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As Joshua prepares for the final stages of his career, the two-time heavyweight champion has enlisted the services of Oleksander Usyk’s training team, with Golub the main voice in the corner.
Immediately after Joshua’s win, a long-awaited showdown with Fury became the immediate topic of conversation, but in the eyes of Golub, AJ is not ready to face the former WBC heavyweight champion just yet.
Earlier this month, various outlets were reporting that Joshua and Fury had finally signed a deal to fight in 2026, but before this particular contest takes place, the pair will participate in warm-up bouts.
The idea of warm-up fights before a contest of this magnitude is a double edged sword. In terms of the benefits, it will allow both men to get back into fighting shape, shake off ring rust and generate even more excitement ahead of the opening bell.
On the other hand, if either Fury or Joshua, or possibly both, lose their warm-up bouts, then interest in the Battle of Britain will vanish.
Following Joshua’s win over Paul, Golub spoke to The Voice of Boxing, and claimed that his charge is not ready to go up against ‘The Gypsy King’ just yet.
“We need one more fight before Fury, Fury is a very dangerous boxer,” Golub said.
“He has a lot of skills, a good intellectual fighter, he must be ready for this, not now.”
With Golub being part of the team which masterminded Usyk’s two wins over Fury last year, he knows what it will take to topple ‘The Gypsy King’.
Against Paul, Joshua did not look great. While the American ran away from the two-time heavyweight champion, Joshua looked slow, especially when it came to his footwork.
Instead of urgency and hunting for the knockout, Joshua was plodding towards Paul who was constantly on the move until he tired and got knocked out in the sixth round.
Joshua said he wasn’t satisfied with his performance, despite breaking Paul’s jaw in two places.
“No, I needed to do better,” Joshua said at the post-fight press conference.
“It’s a win but it’s not a success. I think my coach expects more from me and I expect more from myself. But what can we do? We can’t reverse the clocks. We have to move forward. I have to put that in the past now.
“After today, you might see a bit of social media, trying to lap up all of the algorithm attention but for me, it’s in the past. I can’t live off of that win. I’ve got a lot of improving that I need to do. I’m not happy.”
Joshua explained that the expectations were high in this fight because Paul was a novice boxer.
“There was a lot riding on this fight,” Joshua said.
“A lot of pressure. A lot of expectations. I had to perform. A lot of people doubt me. A lot of people don’t respect me. There’s a lot of pressure. I had boxing on my back today and that was what it was really.
“I took Jake as serious as I needed to but most importantly, I take myself as serious as I need to. I respect myself. I respect boxing. I know what it takes to get in the ring. You have to be prepared. One slip up could cost you in that ring. Credit to Jake.”
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February is being rumoured as the possible date for Joshua’s next outing, and if this is being used as a warm-up before facing Fury, Joshua and his team need to pick a credible heavyweight who is a slick mover to give the Olympic gold medallist the best preparation ahead of the eagerly awaited Battle of Britain.
This article first appeared on DAZN.com and was reproduced with permission.
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