Tyson Fury plays down chances of showdown with Anthony Joshua and claims his heavyweight rival’s career is in ‘tatters’ – as he aims for trilogy fight with Oleksandr Usyk following their highly-anticipated rematch

Tyson Fury believes Anthony Joshua’s career has broken into pieces following his spectacular knockout defeat at the hands of Daniel Dubois in June.

Fury is preparing to take to the ring with Oleksandr Usyk for their highly-anticipated rematch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night.

The 36-year-old is looking to avenge the only loss of his career, which Usyk handed to him back in May to become the undisputed king of the heavyweight division.

However, Dubois would go on to become IBF heavyweight champion a month later by knocking out Joshua at a sold-out Wembley Stadium after Usyk gave up the belt.

Many had touted Joshua and Fury to face off during their illustrious careers, but the Gypsy King now has his eye on a third fight with the Kyiv Cat instead.

‘When I win on Saturday, I think there’s got to be a trilogy next year for sure,’ Fury told Al Arabiya.

Joshua was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium back in June

Fury is days away from his rematch against three-belt heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk

‘Joshua’s in tatters. He has got to pick up the pieces from his last fight. But fighting Usyk on Saturday, and the one after, would be fantastic for me.

‘It’s not revenge, just me smashing his face in. Not in a million years will I walk away after this. All great dance partners have trilogies. Facts.’

Before a third fight is even on the cards, Fury will have to overcome the undefeated Ukrainian fight under the lights at the Kingdom Arena at the weekend.

The first bout would prove to be a tight affair with Fury controlling many of the early rounds and even showboating.

However, Usyk would come back strong to rock the British fighter in the ninth round and control the match until the final bell.

Ultimately, Fury would lose the fight by split decision with the judges scoring the contest 115–112 for Usyk, 114–113 for Usyk, and 114–113 for Fury.

The Gypsy King has now knocked back any suggestions that he underestimated the three-belt heavyweight champion back in May.

‘No, I didn’t. He got a decision over me and won by one point, good luck to the guy,’ he continued.

Fury’s only defeat in his whole career came to Usyk via split decision when they fought in May

The Gypsy King says Joshua needs to ‘pick up the pieces’ from his humbling defeat to Dubois

Instead, Fury has his eyes on a trilogy fight with Usyk if he beats the Ukranian fighter on Saturday

‘We’re going to run it back on Saturday and it’s going to be victory for me. It will all play out as it plays out on Saturday night.’

Ahead of the rematch in Riyadh on Saturday night, Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh announced plans for an additional judge to score the rematch.

Alalshikh said the AI-powered judge will score the contest as part of an experiment, but its verdict will not impact the official result.

‘For the first time ever, an AI-powered judge will monitor the fight,’ Alalshikh said. ‘Free from bias and human error brought to you by The Ring.

‘This groundbreaking experiment, which won’t impact the official results, debuts during the biggest fight of the century, #Usyk2Fury, on December 21. Don’t miss history in the making.’

HOW TO WATCH: Click to register and watch Usyk vs. Fury 2 on DAZN here