Anthony Joshua’s critics are wrong – he was right not to humour Tyson Fury

“DO YOU ACCEPT MY CHALLENGE??? ” Tyson Fury bellowed over the tope rope, the words tumbling down around Anthony Joshua at ringside. As many have noted, it felt very WWE.

Joshua, for his part, wore a slight smirk, but he might as well have been biting his tongue. In showing restraint and not explicitly accepting Fury’s “challenge” , Joshua disappointed the thousands of remaining fans in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the many watching on Netflix, but “AJ” was right not to humour Fury in this moment. There was more to the situation than some realised , as we’ll get to shortly.

Firstly, Joshua’s refusal to publicly accept the fight does not mean he is not going to face his fellow Briton. Joshua’s point, in staying coy, was that a (likely-lengthy) negotiating stage will now ensue, and the heavyweight rivals have been here before. Anthony Joshua, ringside for Tyson Fury’s latest win, was called out by the ‘Gypsy King’ after the fight (Getty) Furthermore, one might argue that Fury has been a greater obstacle to this super-fight than AJ ever has.

There have been his five retirements, of course, and his ultimatums, one of which was so urgent that it even frustrated his own team . So, on Saturday night, it was easy for Fury – fired up from his win over Arslanbek Makhmudov – to hold court in Tottenham and make the callout, to try to instigate a face-off. And the moment Joshua refused to bite, he appeared the villain.