Tyson Fury Says He'd Beat Anthony Joshua with One Arm Tied Behind His Back

Tyson Fury, who has not fought since November 2015 after having his boxing license suspended due to failed drug tests, said he would beat Anthony Joshua  with "one arm tied behind my back."

"I would just like to congratulate AJ for getting through the nip-and-tuck, life-and-death situation, against an old man, so well done," Fury told Tim Hobbs of Sky Sports. "But let's face it, I am the man, the number one in the division. There can only ever be one heavyweight, especially in our part of the world, and it's me. It definitely isn't a pumped-up heavyweight, I can tell you that."

Joshua, 27, defeated Wladimir Klitschko via 11th-round TKO to win the lineal heavyweight championship Saturday. The win moved him to 19-0 on his career, with every victory coming via knockout.

Joshua wasted no time calling Fury out for a fight:

"There's only one fight out there, the biggest fight in the world and everyone knows that," Fury said. "It is the heavyweights, it is me and AJ, no one else. It is the only one the world wants to see and I am here, I am the lineal champion, I am still number one in the world and everybody knows that."

But first Fury will need to be granted reinstatement. He vacated the lineal heavyweight title after testing positive for cocaine, which led to a canceled rematch against Klitschko. While Fury has publicly stated on a number of occasions that he is ready to return to the ring, he is yet to cleared by the boxing commission.

A May 8 hearing has been set up to hear Fury's case.

Should he be granted reinstatement, Fury would in all likelihood take a warm-up bout before going toe-to-toe with Joshua. He has publicly stated he plans to fight on the undercard of Billy Joe Saunders' middleweight title match against Avtandil Khurtsidze on July 8.