Anthony Joshua has warned Tyson Fury he will use his trash talk as fuel when they eventually meet in the ring.
Joshua and Fury have been on a collision course since Joshua became world champion in 2016 but a fight has failed to materialise. Fury holds one of the heavyweight world titles and will take on fellow champion Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 to crown the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
Joshua, who knocked out former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in the second round last month, hopes to fight the winner this year. And he has revealed he will use Fury's long list of insults to help prepare him for his fellow countryman.
"This is one of my rivals," Joshua will say on The Jonathan Ross Show this weekend. "This is someone I want to compete with one day so everything he says, I’ve got it all stored in the back of my memory and when the fight happens, I’m going to use it as a lot of fuel.
"I think what they’re saying is be patient because you’ve got Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for all the belts and then once that’s done hopefully I can kick down the door and get my opportunity."
Joshua's next fight is set to take place at Wembley in September, likely against the winner of Filip Hrgovic's proposed clash with Daniel Dubois. That fight is expected to be for the IBF world title which will be stripped from Fury or Usyk if they push ahead with their plan for a rematch.
That would leave Joshua with the chance to become a three-time champion in front of a home crowd before the end of the year. "Around September is when I’ve been told," he added. "I was hoping June. I’ve got some time to go on dates now and mingle a little bit. I’m training at the minute, I’ve got two months before I get into training camp.
"I think what they’re saying is be patient because you’ve got Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for all the belts and then once that’s done hopefully I can kick down the door and get my opportunity."
Watch The Jonathan Ross Show on Saturday at 9.35pm on ITV1 and ITVX.