Anthony Joshua’s former trainer Robert McCracken insists it’s not “anybody else’s business” whether the former unified world champion wants to proceed with a heavyweight super-fight against Tyson Fury. Frank Warren, who promotes Fury, told Sky Sports this week that terms were agreed and they were “waiting for AJ”, while Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has announced that talks have reopened to stage the fight at Wembley Stadium. But McCracken, who trained Joshua as an amateur and steered him to world heavyweight title glory as a professional, believes the two British stars should not pay any attention to the constant speculation about a long-awaited fight. “I had a career as a fighter and you look back at what you maybe wished you should have done and what you shouldn’t have done,” McCracken exclusively told Sky Sports.
“I think it works out how it should work out most of the time, but it’s up to the fighters if they want to fight each other and try and get the better of each other. “I don’t think it’s anybody else’s business whether they should fight or not – I think they both proved themselves. “One thing I’d say is everyone’s talking about it – it puts boxing on the map and it’s great for boxing. While boxing’s in the forefront and in the news, I think it’s a really positive thing.” Fury expressed his frustration at the prolonged negotiations in a social media outburst, branding Joshua as a “coward”, but McCracken insists the Olympic gold medallist and former world champion would relish the chance to settle a fierce rivalry.
“With Anthony Joshua, in my experiences, he was happy to fight anybody,” said McCracken. “It was just about how it was packaged and what was best for him – that’s how the fighters look at things these days. “I’ve not been involved for a long time with Joshua, but it looks like it’s going to happen. Hopefully it will and then obviously everyone can enjoy it.” The fighters had differing fortunes in summer warm-up fights as Fury sealed a one-sided stoppage of Mariusz Wach, while Joshua had to climb off the canvas twice before halting Kristian Prenga.
But McCracken has suggested that Joshua will be fuelled by the criticism of his close scare. He said: “Joshua is coming off the back of not a great performance, but obviously he got the knockout and that is all that really matters. He’ll be looking to prove people wrong, any of the doubters. “Tyson [Fury] would be the favourite at the moment with his recent results and his form.
It’s quite fascinating if you actually think about it, where it’s got to and the time it’s taken to actually get the fight on.” McCracken was speaking to Sky Sports ahead of ‘A Night of Solidarity’ on November 13, a night of Olympic-style boxing to celebrate the unifying power of sport and raise funds for firefighters’ charities, youth sport organisations and community groups in North Kensington. The night has been created to recognise the actions of the local community in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, when local boxing and sports clubs came together to help the community rebuild, create safe spaces for young people and help everyone affected by this devastating event. The London Fire Brigade Boxing Club (LFB) has worked with local communities across London to deploy the unifying power of sport to provide structure and purpose to the lives of young people, bringing them together with rank-and-file firefighters in boxing gyms in a show of solidarity and support. ‘A Night of Solidarity’ aims to celebrate both these endeavours and bring them together, recognising the important role played by both the LFB Boxing Club and those clubs in the areas most impacted by the Grenfell Tower fire. The evening will raise funds for local sports charities, the Firefighter’s Charity and will include 12 bouts of boxing that will see an LFB Select team take on a North Kensington team, made-up of men, women and youth boxers from a variety of clubs in the local area and across London.
