Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury trade insults on Twitter as rivalry heats up

The war of words has escalated between the British heavyweight rivals

British heavyweights Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury (Getty)

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have escalated their war of words on Twitter ahead of the former’s IBF world heavyweight title fight against Charles Martin.

Joshua, the current British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, accused Fury of being jealous of his “beach body” during a public workout at York Hall in Hackney, London on Monday.

Fury, who holds the WBA and WBO world titles in the division, had previously dismissed his rival as a bodybuilder and has now hit out at the Olympic gold medallist again via social media, refuting Joshua’s claims of jealousy and the legitimacy of the IBF title.

“@anthonyfjoshua jealous of a weightlifter who is fighting for a paper title lol u help me!!! Lol ok need a gym door man,” he wrote on Twitter.

Joshua called Fury a "fat boy" in response and promised to “see you soon”, suggesting that he is targeting the Wythenshawe-born fighter as a future opponent after Saturday’s bout at O2 Arena. After another retort from Fury, Joshua invited him to take up a "ringside seat".

Fury was stripped of his IBF world title just two weeks after claiming it in his points victory over long-standing heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko.

The 27-year-old was penalised for signing a rematch clause with the former champion rather than facing the sanctioning body’s mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov.

Martin, who faces Joshua on Saturday, subsequently defeated Glazkov to claim the vacated belt.