Haye: Fury and Joshua Must Settle the Score

According to former world heavyweight champion David Haye, the time has come for Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to step into the ring together. As a two-weight world titlist who preceded both Joshua and Fury in the British heavyweight boxing scene, Haye believes this fight is essential for both boxers' legacies. Haye emphasized that the bout between Fury and Joshua is the most significant one they could have, and they should be actively pushing for it. He stated, 'They both need each other, for their own legacies, different reasons. They both need to say Anthony Joshua was in the same era as Tyson Fury, vice versa, and they battled it out to figure out who won.' Both Fury and Joshua have recently suffered losses to Oleksandr Usyk, with Fury returning from a year-long break and Joshua recovering from a car accident. While talks are ongoing for a potential fight this year, Joshua is likely to participate in a warm-up bout first. Haye acknowledges that both boxers are past their prime, but he believes the fight can still be a commercial success, much like the bout between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. He noted, 'Maybe they will earn more money now than they would have done when it was first talked about.' Fury's recent 12 rounds with Arslanbek Makhmudov may have prepared him for the Joshua fight, according to Haye. 'A nice stepping stone to the big one, which is Anthony Joshua,' he said, adding that Fury has chosen an opponent with similar dimensions to Joshua, which could be beneficial for his upcoming bout.