Anthony Joshua faces a stern test against Ukranian boxer Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday

Tyson Fury is hoping Joshua pulls through so they can set up their £200m megafight

The protracted delay in the pair of them getting their act together has led them to risk that pot of gold by battling other heavyweights in the next couple of weeks. And although Fury faces the biggest puncher in the world in his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder he fears that Joshua is the one in greater jeopardy.

‘This guy Usyk is no mug,’ says Fury. ‘Joshua’s in a tough fight. Do I want him to win? Definitely. Because me beating up Usyk doesn’t make as much sense or as much money as me beating up Joshua in the big fights everyone wants to see.’

So he will be tuning in from his second home in Las Vegas as Joshua puts his collection of WBA, IBF, WBO and fringe IBO belts on the line. Fury says: ‘I watch all the big boxing matches. Every single one that happens. Of course I would be watching a heavyweight championship fight. This one for sure. Hoping this body-builder doesn’t lose.’

That is one of his customary jibes at Joshua. This time it relates to a concern that if Joshua cannot impose his physique and power on Usyk he will be in danger of being out-boxed over the 12-round distance by a highly technical practitioner of the Noble Art.

He insists Usyk is ‘no mug’ and believes he is a ‘very good boxer’ who will threaten Joshua

Nor does Fury buy into the perception of Usyk, as a recent undisputed world cruiserweight champion, not being big enough to withstand Joshua’s heavier punches. He says: ‘People keep telling me he’s too small. But this guy is bigger than Muhammad Ali, bigger than Mike Tyson, bigger than Evander Holyfield who came up from cruiserweight to be the heavyweight champ.

‘They were all big, similar weight, about the same size as Usyk. And he is definitely a very good boxer.’ Furthermore he is undefeated, a distinction Wilder forfeited when Fury destroyed him in their second fight for the WBC wold title.

That has left Fury even more convinced that he will crush Wilder again in the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas on October 9. He says: ‘Joshua needn’t worry about me. This time I will obliterate this big dosser in a lot less than those seven rounds.’ Fury has also taken note that Usyk, after making hard work of winning his heavyweight debuts against Chazz Witherspoon and Dereck Chisora, has put on extra poundage.

Fury himself must see off old nemesis Deontay Wilder in October to set up a date with Joshua

The irony is that while Usyk has been bulking up, Fury and Joshua have been honing weight from their huge bodies. Photographs show them both looking slimmer. Presumably with the intention of matching the speed of opponents who are unusually fast for heavyweights.

Fury says: ‘I’m already below what I weighed for the second Wilder fight. And I was already the superior athlete.’ Says Joshua of his apparent muscle reduction: ‘I’m leaner and meaner and quicker.’ Fury hopes so, adding: ‘He is at risk. And if Usyk does win he will cost us a few quid. Then again, we have lost plenty of money in the past. So it doesn’t matter all that much. There’s still plenty to go round.’

Joshua v Fury would rake in healthy revenue even if they were to lose all those belts now and it came down to just one fight. As Fury says: ‘It would still be a fight the world wants to happen.’ Meanwhile, from north London to Sin City, the boxing world will be holding its breath for the next fortnight.