John Fury fears Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua loser will struggle to cope with backlash

John Fury has warned that the loser of Tyson Fury’s fight with Anthony Joshua could struggle to cope with the public backlash, saying he hoped the heavyweight showdown would never happen.

His comments were recorded for the forthcoming BBC documentary Rivals: Fury v Joshua before the contest was announced. The event is now scheduled for Friday 11 December at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, with live coverage on Netflix.

Fury’s father expressed concern for both fighters, questioning the physical risks and the treatment the beaten man could face after years at the top of the sport.

John Fury: ‘They won’t be able to cope with it’

“I hope it never happens. They’ll get that much stick, the loser, they won’t be able to cope with it,” he said in the BBC documentary, in comments reported by Nation.Cymru.

“Even though these two guys are not at their best they’ve still got a lot of power and they could still hurt each other, you know.”

He added: “And you just don’t want to see either man walk around after being greats for people to laugh at, really.”

The documentary, available on BBC iPlayer from Tuesday 10 November, examines the rivalry and the long wait to bring the two British heavyweights together. Contributors include Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren, Natasha Jonas, Tony Bellew and Steve Bunce.

John Fury previously ruled out attending Cardiff fight

In a separate interview with Playbook Boxing, reported in October, John Fury said he would not attend his son’s meeting with Joshua.

“I’ll be honest with you, no. No I won’t be attending,” he said.

“I don’t like the people in it, and I know accidents can happen. I’m not involved, so I don’t want to go to the fight.”

Instead, he said he intended to wait for the result: “I’ll be doing what his mother does. I’ll wait for somebody to tell me who wins the fight.”

Fury vs Joshua date and Netflix coverage

The Cardiff event is scheduled for Friday 11 December, although the main event is planned for the early hours of Saturday 12 December. The stadium’s published arrangements remain subject to licensing.

Netflix has confirmed that the event will stream globally to its members at no additional cost.

Fury and Joshua have never fought professionally. Their first meeting follows more than a decade of rivalry, with both having held heavyweight world titles.

Our Fury vs Joshua Cardiff guide has more on the venue, tickets and planned timings.