Anthony Joshua needs to fight Tyson Fury next.
There. I said it. It's out there now.
And before anyone argues that statement, let me just say: Joshua deserves to have a tuneup bout before Fury. He hasn't had a win over a serious contender since defeating Otto Wallin in December 2023 (no, his wins against Francis Ngannou and Jake Paul don't count as wins over real contenders. And that's not even mentioning Joshua getting destroyed by Daniel Dubois in five brutal rounds in September 2024), and he's had to deal with his involvement in a tragic car crash which killed two of his friends in December.
So yes, Joshua deserves a warm-up bout before facing Fury to make sure his mind and body are right.
But here's the problem:
If Joshua doesn't fight Fury next, the fight isn't going to happen.
Why? A plethora of reasons:
Fury could retire (again), Joshua could lose his tuneup fight if his head isn't right, Fury could decide to have a tuneup bout as well if Joshua has one, etc. And what ends up happening? The same thing that's been happening for years: The biggest fight that can be made right now in British boxing doesn't end up happening.
For all intents and purposes, people shouldn't be excited about a Fury-Joshua bout these days. The fight would've been much bigger years ago when both fighters held world titles and were in their primes. Today, both fighters, while still top heavyweights, are past their primes and neither of them owns a world title. The fight will never reach the level it could've been. But despite all of that, plus Fury's multiple retirements and Joshua's starts and stops over the past few years, fans are once again clamoring for this bout. And if you don't make it now, it will never get made.
Losing friends and loved ones is never easy. In Joshua's case, it's doubly hard because he is in the public spotlight. While boxing fans are sympathetic to Joshua's loss, they are also fans that want to see the biggest fights possible. And at the end of the day, they will clamor against Joshua if a fight with Fury never gets made.
This is Joshua's last chance to give British boxing fans what they've wanted for so long. The ball is in his court. It's on him to say yes. It's on him to make the fight happen.