Fury played down the skills of heavyweight rivals Usyk and Joshua by proposing a tag-team boxing fight that would see them partner up to take on ‘The Gypsy King’

Tyson Fury has boldly claimed that he could “batter” Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua on the same night.

Heavyweight champion Fury has been heavily linked to fights against Usyk and Joshua but is yet to face either of the two in the ring. ‘The Gypsy King’ is instead set to fight former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on October 29 in Saudi Arabia but his WBC belt won’t be on the line in the crossover bout.

Footage from Fury’s new Netflix documentary has shown him discussing potential fights against Usyk and Joshua, which led to him proposing a tag-team boxing match. Fury thinks Usyk would be too easy a challenge so he suggested the Ukrainian should tag Joshua in for alternate rounds.

After their first encounter saw Liam Smith knock out Eubank Jr in a major upset, Eubank Jr is now out for revenge. Following months of controversy and bad blood, the two fighters are set to meet once again in a highly anticipated clash and you can watch all the action live this weekend on Sky Box Office.

“Beating Usyk doesn’t do anything for me, who the flipping heck is he? Me giving Usyk a fight is like me not chucking him the bone, but chucking him the full dog’s home. “Everybody expects me to beat Usyk, a middleweight guy who is smaller than me,” Fury said of his heavyweight rival.

“If he beat me it’s like ‘Oh my god, he beat the mammoth who no one couldn’t be beat!’ I’m not going to give somebody the opportunity to gain that. Hell no. It would probably be a better fight if Usyk and AJ fought me both together, like a tag-team. Just keep switching between rounds. I’d actually batter them both on the same night, that’s how easy they are.”

Usyk was in action last weekend as he stopped Daniel Dubois to defend his unified heavyweight titles, but the win was overshadowed by a controversial low blow that some fans believe was a legal punch. Joshua also fought earlier this month as he knocked out Robert Helenius, who has since tested positive for a banned substance taken from a pre-fight drug test.

If things go to plan for Fury in his upcoming fight against Ngannou, an undisputed clash with Usyk could be made in Saudi Arabia at the start of next year. Usyk said of the potential fight after his recent win: “I’m ready tomorrow. Listen, I’m ready. Next fight, I’ll fight Tyson Fury but for Tyson Fury, I have no idea.” The event could also feature Joshua vs Deontay Wilder, as the monumental heavyweight card was being planned for the end of this year but has since been pushed back.

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That’s the view of Zhilei Zhang, who believes it’s a shame the ‘Gypsy King’ will now fight former UFC star Francis Ngannou rather than defend his WBC belt.

Fury has consistently been criticised for not taking on another top contender for his title since defeating Deontay Wilder in their trilogy in October 2021.

He beat Dillian Whyte last April and then Derek Chisora in December, after a mega-fight with Joshua fell through.

Since then, a unification clash with Usyk has also fallen by the wayside despite plenty of negotiations.

Now, with Fury opting to take a big-money boxing match with MMA heavyweight Ngannou in Saudi Arabia, those stars are now battling amongst themselves.

AJ will fight Whyte on August 12 at the O2 Arena and Usyk will battle Daniel Dubois two weeks later in Poland.

Zhang propelled himself into contention for a title fight too, defeating Joe Joyce in April. But an activated rematch clause sees a potential tilt delayed.

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And, as the rest of the division get ready to duke it out, the Chinese superstar has taken aim at Fury.

He told Standard Sport, via Free Bets: “‘When you look at Tyson Fury – he avoided Joshua, he avoided Usyk. He chose to fight somebody who has never been in the ring before.

“[Ngannou] is a novice, he’s just turning pro. Yes he’s a UFC champion and I have respect for him, but when it comes to the ring it’s a different story.

“So Tyson Fury I think is a disgrace to the sport of boxing. Shame on him.”

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But Zhang has admitted had Joyce not opted to take him on a second time, he may well have been the man to fight Fury.

And he’s still hopeful he will in the future.

He said: “My team were in conversations with Tyson Fury’s team, we were very close to making that fight before the rematch clause was activated.

“I believe that fight is going to happen, one way or another.”