Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua fight is no closer to being agreed

It has been over a year since Tyson Fury's last fight, when he defeated Deontay Wilder in their Las Vegas rematch

WBC champion Tyson Fury says a fight against Anthony Joshua is no closer to being arranged than it was a year ago.

Speaking to ESPN, Fury confirmed he will fight twice in 2021 regardless of whether a fight with Joshua is agreed.

After Joshua, 31, beat Kubrat Pulev in December, his promoter Eddie Hearn said the fight could be sorted in days.

"They've had a full year to try and make this fight happen. It is what it is. We're no further forward today than we were a year ago," Fury said.

"The way it is at the moment [with Covid-19], I don't think it has got much to do with the fighters. It's to do with the venue, date, place, site fees. It's to do with everything but the fight itself."

• Joshua v Fury: What obstacles stand in the way?

As Joshua holds the IBF, WBO and WBA belts, a fight between the pair would see all four belts contested in a heavyweight fight for the first time.

In the moments after Josh Warrington's shock loss to Mauricio Lara on 14 February, Fury, 32, tweeted his view that the lengthy spells of inactivity fighters have faced during the pandemic was causing significant problems in their careers.

He has raised the issue of his own inactivity, having not returned to the ring since ending Deontay Wilder's five-year reign as WBC heavyweight world champion in their Las Vegas rematch last February.

"I should have boxed, because I've been so inactive," said Fury. "By the time I fight again, looking at maybe June if this Joshua fight happens, that will be a year and six months out of the ring, which is not ideal preparation for any superfight.

"If that fight [against Joshua] doesn't happen this summer, it's got to happen sooner or later."

• Bloodlands: James Nesbitt stars in thrilling drama where the past won't die

• HyperNormalisation: Have we been conditioned into accepting the fake as reality?