Tommy Fury warns Anthony Joshua not to ‘mess up’ chance to face brother Tyson like he did against Andy Ruiz Jr when he faces Oleksandr Usyk in next fight

Anthony Joshua has been warned he cannot afford to slip up against Oleksandr Usyk like he did when he fought Andy Ruiz Jr.

Tommy Fury, speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, has told AJ to 'take care of his business' by defeating challenger Usyk in order to seal a unification bout with brother Tyson.

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His warning comes after a deal for Joshua and Fury to fight spectacularly collapsed as the latter was forced into a trilogy bout with Deontay Wilder following an arbitration case.

Fury announced last week he would take on Joshua in Saudi Arabia on August 14 but hours later a hearing upheld Deontay Wilder's claim he was contractually owed a third fight with the WBC champion.

Speaking about the hotly-anticipated fight, Tommy said: “Tyson’s mindset and his team’s mindset is he doesn’t care. He’s the best fighter on the planet. It doesn’t matter if he’s fighting Anthony Joshua or Deontay Wilder.

“That AJ fight is going to come. He’s going to knock Wilder out this time and he’s going to wish he’d never picked up the phone to fight.

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“It is what it is, he’s in the mindset now, he’s absolutely untouchable, there’s no one beating Tyson but himself, that’s just the bottom line.

“He’s not bothered about who he fights. You’re going to see the best Tyson Fury.

“It shocked all of us as it was all done and cemented. Everyone working with Tyson and the other side of it was all confirmed and then suddenly there was a slip up and he’s fighting Wilder. 

“That just shows the craziness of boxing. When something’s nailed on it’s not really nailed on.

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“You never know what’s going to happen. I’m sure it’s going to be a great fight again and hopefully we can see the Joshua fight before the end of the year and if not maybe next year.

“I think it will still happen as it’s too big of a fight not to happen. This is one of the biggest fights ever." 

It is hoped that when the two British heavyweights eventually meet, all four belts will be on the line to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion of the world for the first time since Lennox Lewis in 1999.

However, Joshua must retain the WBA, WBO and IBF belts by beating Usyk, and the same for Fury with his WBC title against Wilder.

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AJ famously lost his titles in a shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019, before winning them back later that year.

Fury, who is next fighting on 5 June on the Daniel Dubois undercard, added: “You can’t let that go by. Both men aren’t ancient. It’s not like they’re 35 or 36, both are in the prime of their lives whether it’s going to be this year or next it doesn’t really matter.

“Both men just have to secure it from their sides. I know Tyson is going to secure it, so it’s really on AJ not to mess up like he did before.

“He’s got to take care of his business."