Ex-champ urges Joshua to hire Tyson for Fury fight

File: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Former super-middleweight world champion George Groves has urged Anthony Joshua to enlist boxing legend Mike Tyson’s help as he prepares for his long-awaited heavyweight showdown with Tyson Fury.

Joshua and Fury are set to settle their decade-long rivalry on December 11 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, in a bout expected to draw global attention.

Both fighters head into the contest following stoppage victories, with Fury overcoming Polish veteran Mariusz Wach, while Joshua recovered from two knockdowns to defeat Kristian Prenga. Despite Joshua’s resilience, Fury is expected to enter the ring as the favourite.

Groves believes Joshua needs a tactical rethink to overcome the Morecambe-born heavyweight, suggesting that adopting elements of Mike Tyson’s aggressive, close-range style could give him an advantage.

Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, Groves said: “I think Anthony Joshua should bring Mike Tyson in to come up with the plan to beat Tyson Fury. What Joshua could also do is have a bit more of a Mike Tyson-esque style.

“Joshua could be a little bit more peekaboo, crouching, slipping, sliding, dipping, momentum going forward, bringing those big hooks and uppercuts off those dips, legs loaded.

• Joshua fighting for final payday – Fury
• FIRO seeks youth dev with boxing championship
• Heavyweight champ Hrgovic begs Joshua to retire

“That would be the key to success because even though Joshua is a big, tall man, he gives away a bit of height against Tyson Fury. Getting some advice from a man who carved out a fantastic career always being on the shorter side of things makes perfect sense to me.”

However, recruiting the former heavyweight champion could prove difficult, given Tyson’s public support for Fury ahead of the encounter.

Speaking to Piers Morgan about the fight, the 60-year-old made his allegiance clear, saying, “Tyson’s named after me – I’m always with Tyson.” He added: “It would be nice [if he beats Joshua].”

Groves also favours Fury to win, predicting that the former heavyweight champion could end the contest inside three rounds. He believes Fury’s size and ability to land clean punches would pose significant problems for Joshua under the pressure of such a high-profile fight.

“You’ve got to pick Fury as a solid favourite. Once he lands on Joshua, I think he knocks him out. It’s too much of a big-pressure fight for them to pull one another around and get rounds. The second Joshua gets clipped on the chin, I think he’s going to go over. Fury is too big,” he said.

“He’s not necessarily heavy-handed, but if he’s coming in the ring at 19-plus stone and throws a couple of solid shots, and starts finding his range, I think he hurts Joshua. I think he stops him. It might be really early. I think there’s a strong possibility that this fight is over in the first three rounds.”