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Top Rank

If there was any chance of seeing a unification of all four recognized heavyweight world titles, it would have been killed if Anthony Joshua failed to successfully defend his WBA, IBF and WBO belts against Kubrat Pulev on Saturday. Joshua took care of business, however, knocking out Pulev in the ninth round and keeping the dream of a unified heavyweight champion alive.

Following his victory, Joshua was quick to minimize the idea of facing Fury, who many feel is the "true" champion despite Joshua holding more belts. Fury, as is his style, was quick to respond to Joshua in a video post on social media (warning: explicit language).

"Anthony Joshua just s--- himself live on television," Fury said. "He got asked did he want the fight and he went around the bushes and put his ass on the edge. I want the fight. I want the fight next. I'll knock him out inside three rounds. He's a big bum dosser. Can't wait to knock him out."

Those were far harsher words from Fury than Joshua's message when asked after the fight following his victory in London.

"You ask the crowd what they want to see. I am up for anything," Joshua said. "That's [promoter] Eddie Hearn's job. I started this game in 2013, I have been chasing the belts and fulfilling the mandatories. Of course I want the belts. If that is Tyson Fury, let it be Tyson Fury. There's no big deal. It's on to my next fight, I don't care about anything else. I have to stay focused."

Many hurdles remain to making the fight happen, including different promoters, different network commitments, sanctioning body mandatory opponents and even a legal challenge from two-time Fury opponent Deontay Wilder.