Former WBC cruiserweight champion and Sky Sports pundit Tony Bellew believes IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua could certainly catch Tyson Fury very early in a potential unification fight.

In recent interviews, Joshua and Fury have been discussing the scenario of facing each other in a two-fight series in 2021.

Both boxers have upcoming obligations to overcome.

Fury has to defend his WBC heavyweight crown against Deontay Wilder in a trilogy fight to take place before the end of the year, while Joshua has to defeat the IBF's mandatory challenger, Kubrat Pulev.

If Fury and Joshua are capable of eliminating their other mandatory obligations, then the two of them could very well collide in the coming year.

If the fight happens, Bellew would expect Joshua to come out swinging. He feels the contest would get a lot tougher for Joshua if he allows Fury to survive the first few rounds. The best shot for Joshua to secure the victory, says Bellew, is for him to clip Fury early on.  

"I think he would jump on Tyson Fury and I think he would catch him pretty quickly," Bellew exclusively told The Gary Newbon Sports Show.

"But don’t get me wrong, if that fight was to go past four or five rounds, I think Anthony Joshua would find himself in an awful lot of trouble.

"He has to get rid of someone like Tyson Fury and solve that puzzle and enigma that is Tyson Fury quickly because the more fights go on against him the harder it becomes."