Anthony Joshua said “no conversations were had between me and Tyson Fury” after the pair met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday before the former’s heavyweight fight with Francis Ngannou on Friday.
The Britons have rarely crossed paths despite their long-running rivalry.
Joshua, Fury and Ngannou took a picture together, alongside footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and Saudi powerbroker Turki Alalshikh.
“I’m quite territorial,” Joshua told BBC Sport.
“When I’m in a room, I’ll call them my enemies or my competitors. I don’t really smile. I can’t fake it.
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“There’s a lot of fake people on these fight weeks. I can’t really fake it with it with people.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn described Fury as being “on golden form”, saying ‘The Gypsy King’ did not directly speak to Joshua but did take aim at Ngannou for suggesting he won their fight in October.
Joshua – who was not in the room when Fury and Ngannou clashed – added: “I heard something happened between Ngannou but Ngannou would get him a headlock and chop him up.
“All this boxing stuff, on the streets MMA rules 100%.
Alalshikh, as he has done for previous fight nights in Saudi, hosted all the boxers, including Joseph Parker and Justis Huni who are on the undercard, as well as promoters Hearn and Frank Warren.
With the riches of the Saudi kingdom behind him, Alalshikh has been credited with changing the landscape of boxing.
He has resolved conflicts and rivalries between fighters and promoters, including Hearn and Warren, and there is increased hope Fury and Joshua could finally happen.
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WBC champion Fury arrived in Riyadh earlier on Tuesday and is expected to be ringside on Friday as his brother, 27-year-old Roman Fury, is fighting on the undercard.
“I think years ago that might have affected AJ, but not anymore. Now he’s just laser focused,” Hearn said.
“Be interesting to see what Tyson Fury does at ringside.”
As Saudi Arabia faces repeated accusations of using elite level sport to deflect conversation away from its poor human rights record, their investment in boxing does not appear to be slowing down.
While the interest of the locals is questionable, with a lack of fans attending the fight week festivities so far, the money being pumped into the build-up is staggering.
The production levels for the promotional videos – lending to the arcade fight computer game theme – would put many Hollywood trailers to shame.
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The purses have not been revealed but Forbes sensationally report, external Joshua could earn $50m with Ngannou taking home $10m.
