Heavyweight legend Evander Holyfield has advised IBF, IBO, WBA world champion Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) to forget about a potential domestic showdown with Tyson Fury (25-0, 18 KOs).
Fury has been out of the ring since defeating Wladimir Klitschko in a major upset in November of 2015.
Joshua unified his three world titles in April, after getting off the floor to stop Klitschko in the eleventh round before a crowd of 90,000 fans at Wembley in London.
Fury lost all of his titles last year, when he withdrew from several rematch dates with Klitschko and took some time off to deal with his failing mental health and substance abuse issues.
Currently Fury does not have a license to box and there is an ongoing case with British anti-doping agency UKAD, which claim the boxer tested positive for a banned substance in early 2015. Fury will be unable to regain his license until the UKAD issue had been sorted out.
Holyfield believes Fury's trash talking antics and his pre-fight behavior would cast a dark shadow on Joshua.
“Joshua has to think about his image. He doesn’t need to be against someone like Fury who jokes a lot and is seen in a different light. Joshua has talked about becoming the first billionaire fighter and if he is serious then he will need the big-name fights. And Fury really isn’t one of those for Joshua,” Holyfield told The Sun.
There is a rematch clause for Klitschko, and Joshua may face him in the fall. Holyfield says the Olympic gold medal winner must avoid the mindset of overlooking Klitschko in the second fight. Holyfield avenged several career defeats in rematches, with other top fighters of the past like Michael Moorer and Riddick Bowe.
“It would be a bona fide rematch, but Joshua has to avoid starting to have an ego. He must avoid thinking ‘I don’t have to work as hard this time, I’ve proved I can beat him and I can do it again,'" Holyfield said.