Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury's smiles and respect will be replaced by a boiling rivalry when their fight gets closer, says Sky Sports Boxing's Johnny Nelson. The British heavyweight rivals traded a few taunts but also shared words of mutual respect at their long-awaited first press conference in London on Wednesday evening. But Sky Sports expert Nelson believes their first media meeting was just a "soft launch" and expects real animosity to appear ahead of their blockbuster battle in Cardiff on December 11, penning his thoughts below...
"I think after all these years of all the back-and-forth and Tyson calling him every name under the sun and AJ being super cool and Eddie Hearn saying what he's saying, I thought when they sat in front of each other on Wednesday, if I'm honest - maybe I got taken away with all the hype - but I thought there was really going to be a real ruckus. "But they were like a couple of businessmen that went there to say: 'Right, we're going to tick all the boxes.' "I'm quite sure, as the weeks roll on, you can compare it to a 100-metre sprint. "It's 10 weeks to go, so this first week, it's niceties.
I think as we get to 20 metres down the line, it will get a bit tighter and tighter, and then by the time we're at 50 metres, these guys will be champing at the bit, hating on each other. That's probably what they have to do. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "I think the public might have been a little subdued Wednesday because of all the back-and-forth they've seen previously.
So they thought: 'Let's see if this is for real.' "The build-up to this fight as the weeks roll on, the words will get worse. Tyson's potty mouth will get in the way and things will be said, litigation and threats and everything. "Even up until the first bell goes, it is going to be drama.
This is what this fight's got written all over it. "So that was a soft launch of what to expect. "I think the smiling shocked everybody.
Only because, as I said, of what we've seen in the build-up and everything. "It's like a kettle boiling and thinking: 'Right, they're finally in the room together.' For the first time we've seen them head-to-head, these guys were just grown up. "They were boys, now they're men.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
