WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury claims that he tried to make a fight with Anthony Joshua at least six times in the last five years.

Fury feels Joshua had no intention of fighting and made their discussions as difficult as possible.

Last year, there were negotiations for a potential fight to take place in Saudi Arabia.

The fight fell apart when Deontay Wilder was victorious in an arbitration to enforce a rematch clause for a third meeting with Fury.

However, Fury claims the deal was dead in the water even before Wilder's legal win - because Joshua kept increasing his demands. 

"I tried to make that fight six times at least, in my memory, in the last five years and have been unsuccessful every single time because you're messing with a diva who doesn't want to fight. Years ago, when he was an undefeated knockout artist, people thought, "you know what? He could beat Tyson Fury, maybe," Fury told IFL TV.

"Then when Anthony Joshua got bounced off the canvas by Andy Ruiz [in June 2019], people said, "he's a bodybuilder — Tyson's right, he hasn't got a chance. Then when he looked shockingly sh!t in the [December 2019] rematch against Ruiz - who didn't train for a day, by the way, he was out in Mexico partying with the president - people said he was shot to bits. Then he goes and gets beaten by a cruiserweight [Usyk]. That bird has flown. I am the undefeated heavyweight king."

Fury was in action back in April, when he knocked out mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte. 

After that fight, he expressed his desire to retire from the sport.

The unbeaten boxer maintains that he's going to stay away from the ring. 

"I'm happily retired and there will always be somebody else to fight, whether it's Joshua, Usyk or someone else — Dubois, Joyce. Go and find another sucker to fight them all because I'm all out of getting punched in the face for a few quid. I don't need it," Fury said.

On the other hands, his co-promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, expects him to return to the ring - at least for the winner of the August rematch between Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.