Tyson Fury insists time is right for long-awaited fight with Anthony Joshua

Tyson Fury is sympathetic to the personal tragedy that has placed Anthony Joshua’s career on hold but insists it is time to agree the biggest fight in British boxing history.

Fury revealed after he had unanimously outpointed Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday that he had already signed the contract to face Joshua, with his camp targeting a date in September.

It followed an awkward stand off after the fight when Fury grabbed the microphone, called out Joshua and beckoned him into the ring, only to be met with silence as his long-term rival remained sat in his seat.

The face off intended to light the fuse for the lucrative showdown between the two best British heavyweights of their generation, which had even been trailed by Saudi Arabia’s boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh in an interview earlier in the evening and was then confirmed by Netflix on social media, failed to materialise.

Fury described the muted response as “a bit suspect, how he handled himself”, but Joshua later hinted that he might not yet be ready to agree the fight having been involved in a fatal car crash in December that killed two of his close friends.

“I was in a serious incident. There’s real stuff happening in my life. I’m not ducking anyone. Once I’m 100 per cent, I’ll fight,” said Joshua, whose victory over YouTube star Jake Paul is his only appearance in 19 months.

Fury fears that their plans could be derailed if Joshua opts for a warm-up before they finally meet after a decade of circling each other.

“He’s had his problems. We all have. God knows I’ve had problems myself. I’ve attempted to kill myself before. So I’ve been through it. I’ve been up and down,” The Gypsy King said.

“I’ve been one step out of the mental institution. We’ve all had problems and that’s life, unfortunately. If you’re in this game, you’re either a boxer or you’re not.

“The problem is, taking interim fights in heavyweight boxing, you can get chinned by anybody. Even a journeyman can knock a good man out because they’re heavyweights. They’ve got power.

“I never mentioned Anthony Joshua in the whole build-up to this fight or since his accident. I’ve given him the respect that he deserves and his space.

“But he came here for the job and I asked him to do a fight and he should have got into the ring, but he didn’t give an answer. He didn’t want it. He didn’t look like he wanted it. He was just shell-shocked, didn’t know what to say.

Fury’s manager Spencer Brown is “100 per cent” certain it will take place this year with Wembley and Croke Park being mentioned as possible venues.

If it fails to materialise, Fury made it clear he would retire for the sixth time, although he did mention a trilogy fight against his only conqueror Oleksandr Usyk.

“It’s either Joshua or I’m gone again. I’m not interested in up-and-comers and I’m not interested in someone trying to prove a point over me. I only care now about AJ. That’s the defining fight for British boxing,” he said.