Anthony Joshua's 'psychological edge' is the key to defeating Tyson Fury in their heavyweight showdown later this year, according to former four-weight world champion Roy Jones Jr. After more than a decade of verbal sparring, the two British icons are finally expected to meet in the ring before Christmas.
Joshua and Fury Set for Historic Clash
Joshua and Fury signed to fight each other just days after Fury won his comeback bout against Arslanbek Makhmudov in April. Joshua will return to the ring next month, taking on Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, while Fury is also expected to have a tune-up fight before facing Joshua. With the historic clash edging closer, many in the boxing world have offered their thoughts on how the bout will go.
Jones Jr: Mental Dominance is Key
In an interview with BettingLounge, Jones Jr said: 'You're looking to see how his mental dominance works. If he's mentally dominant, then you know he's ready to go into a big fight. If he's not mentally dominant, then he's not ready for Tyson Fury. Mental dominance is the look you see on his face from round one until whatever round it takes to end it.' The 57-year-old added: 'My mental dominance set in before the weigh-in, and I tried to dominate all the way up until the last bell rang.'
Jones Jr referenced Joshua's recent win over Jake Paul, saying: 'Against Jake Paul, his dominance showed up at that last weigh-in, at that last press conference. His dominance finally showed up. I said, 'Now we've got something.' And it lasted throughout the night. So if it happens the same way this time, if his mental dominance shows up right away and it lasts to the end, then we know we've got something.'
Potential Rematch
Joshua and Fury are expected to engage in an epic rivalry, with two meetings planned. The first bout is due to be broadcast live on Netflix, with the rematch set for DAZN. Jones Jr urged the fighters not to retire after the first meeting, saying: 'It depends, because what if it's a very good fight, a very competitive fight, and it's close? We all want to see it again. We're going to want to see two out of three. But if somebody blasts somebody, or somebody completely dominates somebody, we're just going to say, 'Okay, well, he was better than him.' If it's a great fight, we all want to see it again. If it's a dominating performance by one guy or the other, we don't have to see it again.'
Joshua's Tune-Up Fight
Regarding Joshua's upcoming bout with Prenga, Jones Jr insisted the result matters little as long as the fight doesn't jeopardize the Fury meeting. 'Sometimes you're only as good as your opponent, so we can't judge him by this fight,' he said. 'It's a different outlook and a different mindset when you know you're fighting a top guy than when you're fighting a guy with a padded record. He may look good and knock the guy right out, or the guy may come in and fight above his head and make Joshua have to work for it. But at the end of the day, Joshua should still beat him, and it doesn't matter how Joshua looks. We've been waiting for the Joshua-Fury fight for so long that we don't care how Joshua looks. As long as he wins, let's just get these two guys in front of each other.'
