Tyson Fury’s US co-promoter Bob Arum has said he is unconvinced by Anthony Joshua.
The rival heavyweight champions were supposed to meet this summer, only for the fight to collapse late into negotiations.
An arbitration ruling forced Fury into a trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder on October 9 instead, while AJ must now defend against Oleksandr Usyk on September 25.
After this, there is hope the pair will finally meet in the ring in February 2022.
When asked what danger Joshua would pose to Fury, Arum told Gareth A Davies: “I’m not thrilled with Joshua, I don’t think much of Joshua.
“Because every time the name Joshua is mentioned, I see him laying on the canvas after getting hit by a non-puncher like Andy Ruiz.
“I’m telling you the truth.
“I may be underestimating Joshua, but I’m not convinced that Joshua is an elite heavyweight.”
Arum also did not hold back with his thoughts on how AJ is perceived in America.
He continued: “This is no disrespect to him, Anthony Joshua means next to nothing in the United States with the boxing community.
“All they remember of Anthony Joshua is his one fight in the United States where he got knocked out by a non-puncher like Andy Ruiz.
“That view of Anthony Joshua will not change easily.
“So if Anthony Joshua fought Tyson Fury in the United States, it wouldn’t do nearly as well as Tyson Fury’s upcoming fight with Deontay Wilder.
“He’s not a personality, he doesn’t come through to the US public.
“It may very well be different the way he connects with the UK public, but he doesn’t connect with the American public.
“They don’t know who he is or what he stands for. They nothing about him.”