On the Money: Tyson Fury Knows Anthony Joshua Fight Is Simply Too Good to Refuse

After all the talking, travelling and tweeting, it is time for Tyson Fury to get back to training.

The IBO, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion now has a date and location for his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko. The pair will meet again on July 9, at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

Fury was praised for his performance when ending Klitschko's long, rather dreary reign in November 2015.

His pre-fight antics—including dressing up as Batman for a press conference and demanding a layer of foam be removed from the ring on the day of the bout—seemed to unsettle his Ukrainian opponent.

However, what really bothered Klitschko was his opponent's head movement during the fight. The Englishman ducked and weaved his way to a unanimous points win in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Still, he is not everyone's cup of tea.

His comments with regards to abortion and homosexuality, made in an interview with Oliver Holt in the Mail on Sunday, will be used against him by his detractors forever more.

As for those who criticise his abilities as a fighter, they will suggest he caught Klitschko at the perfect time, having barely beaten many of the other leading names in the division beforehand.

Yet his supporters will rightly point to the facts. Fury is on a 25-fight winning streak and handed Klitschko his first loss in more than 11 years. You have to do more than just turn up in a superhero costume to achieve that.

Forget about the box of chocolates that Forrest Gump said his momma was talking about—you actually never know what you're going to get when Fury talks to the media.

He is a 6'9" quotes machine whose words make a boxing journalist's job so much easier. 

In February, per Jacob Murtagh of the Mirror, he announced he was contemplating quitting, rather than face Klitschko again: "I’m struggling to get motivated. I could walk away. I could just sail into the sunset unbeaten with all the belts and live a normal life."

By April, according to Jeff Powell of the Mail, he declared himself ready to face both Klitschko and Anthony Joshua...on the same night. He went from retirement to boxing's version of a Royal Rumble in the space of two months.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Joshua, meanwhile, is the new champion on the block.

He claimed the IBF title, one that briefly belonged to Fury before he was stripped of the honour, by knocking out American Charles Martin inside two rounds.

Fury could easily be frustrated that the 2012 Olympic gold medallist is threatening to steal his thunder. Instead, he is smart enough to know that two British world champions is better than one.

If they both win their next fights, the clamour for a showdown between the duo will grow to such an extent that it is hard to see how it doesn't happen.

While Fury may have talked about retirement, he is unlikely to walk away from a lucrative bout with Joshua.

As he told Sky Sports (h/t Stephen Turner of SkySports.com), his future in the ring is not about securing his legacy but his family's long-term finances: "I've already beaten the best man there is and was, so I have no motivation. Whoever they put in front of me I'll fight, but they've got nothing that I want. Only money—they're going to give me money to do it, so I'll do it."

According to Andy Burton and Richard Damerell of Sky Sports, Eddie Hearn—Joshua's promoter—can see the Fury fight happening before the end of the year:

"

I think the next fight after June 25 could be Tyson Fury. David Haye is a big fight. There is no real carrot with a David Haye fight, other than it's a huge fight with a load of money to be made.

I think AJ wants the belts, he wants to unify the division. To do that, you have to beat Tyson Fury. We feel like Tyson Fury is a much easier fight than David Haye.

"

Fury will no doubt have to answer plenty of questions about Joshua during the buildup to his second fight against Klitschko.

He isn't going to run away from given a straight answer either, but for now his major concern should be running on the roads to get himself in shape:

Unification fights in the heavyweight division have been thin on the ground of late, so Fury against Joshua is a tantalising prospect.

And while Joshua has dazzled in knocking out 16 straight opponents, Fury has an excellent boxing brain. He will work out ways to pose questions that his compatriot has never had to answer before.

The only absolute certainty is both men would make a fortune from the fight.

If he records wins over Klitschko and Joshua, Fury could walk away from the sport as an unbeaten, unified world champion with plenty of time left in his life to count his millions.

Then again, maybe the temptation to own every belt on offer would prove too good to resist.

That's the great thing about Fury—you never know what he will do next.