Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will both be retired from boxing this time next year.
That’s according to boxing legend Johnny Nelson, who thinks the end is nigh for both men at a time when Oleksandr Usyk is dominating the heavyweight division.
Fury lost to Usyk on Saturday night, with the Briton suffering defeat to his Ukrainian for a second time after previously failing to win their first bout back in May.
He was coy on his future in the aftermath of the contest, admitting that he wasn’t entirely sure what he’d do next after suffering the second professional defeat of his career.
Boxing news: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have been tipped to fight for a number of years
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It’s an open secret that Fury and Joshua could fight next year, despite their stock falling.
Eddie Hearn, AJ’s promoter, remains keen for the two Britons to do battle.
Yet while Nelson has admitted it would be an exciting showdown, the boxing legend has now expressed a belief that both men will be retired by the time Christmas 2025 rolls along.
“I see the headlines of Anthony Joshua. I know Frank (Warren) and himself said they won the fight but they know they didn’t win the fight,” he told Action Network.
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“They’re talking about the AJ fight and that’s a big fight and you would love to see that fight.
“Like AJ, Tyson’s head is going to be up his a**e and will be feeling heartbroken and gutted.
“If you truly believe you are the best amongst everybody else and you are world class but then get a reality check, it takes you a long time to get over it.
“Tyson is a very wealthy man and the drug of boxing; we all need it. But when that confidence is shattered, what is the motivation? It’s very hard to live and breathe in the cash.
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“The weekend won’t make any difference to them instantly, it will just make a difference for their generations coming through.
“Now, it’s getting that motivation to say, ‘I can do this’. Maybe Tyson and AJ can lift themselves for that one fight together but mark my words, this time next year they will both be retired.
“They will be out of the game.”
Fury was furious after the judges gave the victory to Usyk, rather than himself.
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Boxing news: Johnny Nelson thinks Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will be retired by Christmas 2025
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His promoter, Frank Warren, was also enraged.
But Nelson thinks the result was the right one, adding: “In hindsight, the scorecards were closer to being correct than we were (scoring it live).
“The fight was close, but I thought the scorecards were alright given a round or so.
“Throughout the fight, it was pretty even (at the start), both guys were trying to find a way but Tyson found himself reacting instead of being the activator, and all the way through, he was reactive.
Boxing news: Tyson Fury lost to Oleksandr Usyk in their bout on Saturday night
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“Tyson went into the fight with intent, and I said I love this Tyson Fury, his head is on it, no bull****, he’s on it to get the job done.
“He went in with the intent but not with execution. Once he got a shot off, he didn’t execute and overthought it by thinking ‘I’ll wait a bit’ and spent so much time waiting for the shots to go.
“Tyson must’ve thrown six instinctive shots throughout the fight and the rest (of the shots), he had to think about it. The instinctive shots were the most successful because, with instinct, you can’t read and even in the first fight, instinct caught Usyk with the uppercut. But this fight, was a mix of a few things.
“This Tyson that went in with intent, you only have one chance to make a first impression. This Tyson should’ve shown up the first time because the execution would’ve been with him. But now he has been in the ring with Oleksandr Usyk before, Tyson was thinking twice about certain things thinking ‘should I or shouldn’t I’.
“Oleksandr Usyk was the ultimate professional throughout. He deserved the win.”