Tyson Fury has revealed that he felt sorry for Anthony Joshua following his surprise defeat at the hands of Daniel Dubois. Joshua was the heavy favourite going into the fight at Wembley but was overpowered by Dubois, who earned a knockout victory in the fifth round.

Joshua was floored in the first round and was utterly dominated from then on, with Dubois finding plenty of success with his power punches. The two boxers are widely expected to renew their rivalry in a rematch next year, but this is yet to be confirmed.

Fury, who has been tipped to fight Joshua for several years, has admitted to feeling ‘sad’ after seeing his fellow Brit slip to such a heavy defeat under the Wembley arch.

“I feel sorry for him at the minute because he’s obviously been cleaned out in his last fight, colded out in five rounds, sparked, so he’s going to have to do that again, or not, and then decide his future,” said Fury in an interview with Sky News.

“After every loss I’ve felt a little bit down and deflated because when an adversary loses and it’s not to you, you do feel down and depressed about it. I felt sad for him. I was probably the only person at ringside who was sad. It was sad to see a worthy opponent lose his crown.”

A long-awaited showdown between Fury and Joshua has been discussed for many years without ever coming to fruition. A deal to host the fight in Saudi Arabia was close to being agreed in 2021, but talks ultimately fell through.

It seems unlikely that negotiations will resume any time soon following Joshua’s one-sided defeat to Dubois. Fury, however, would still be open to fighting his long-term rival no matter how many losses are on his record.

“Yeah, I’d still fight him,” said the Gypsy King. “Whether he’s got five losses, 10 losses or 20 losses, it’s not important.

“At this stage of our careers, it’s about having good fights and putting good fights on for the paying customer and I still think it would be an entertaining and interesting fight for the paying punter.”

Only time will tell if Joshua and Fury will ever share the ring together, with many fans still eager to see the fight take place. Any discussions would need to be put on hold until after Fury goes up against Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch in December.