Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua a disgrace for not reaching an agreement to fight Deontay Wilder in the United States.

Joshua holds the International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and International Boxing Organisation (IBO) heavyweight titles, but failed to reach a deal with WBC champion Wilder for a fight which would have unified the divisions’ belts.

Instead Joshua will take on Russia’s Alexander Povetkin, a mandatory challenger, on September 22 at Wembley as his next opponent after defeating Joseph Parker recently.

And Fury thinks Joshua is scared of fighting the American and believes the heavyweight division deserves better from their champion.

“I think it’s such a sad time for heavyweight boxing because you’ve got the so-called super champion and golden boy, Anthony Joshua, and he is avoiding Deontay Wilder and will not fight him at any cost,” Fury said in a video posted to Twitter.

“If you’re not going to fight someone for £40million, you’re not going to fight him for anything. It’s a disgrace and he’s a disgrace to boxing.

“And I think it needs somebody good enough to step up and take on the challenges and not be afraid – not be afraid to take risks and go to people’s backyards and do it.”