Anthony Joshua says he would be ready to fight Tyson Fury in December after the WBC champion offered the chance to meet in a “Battle of Britain” bout by the end of the year.
On Monday, Fury posted a video on social media proposing a title fight with Joshua, who is coming off last month's points defeat in his rematch with WBA, WBO, IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk.
It represented Joshua's second successive defeat to the Ukrainian - the first time he has suffered back-to-back losses as a professional.
In his video on Monday, Fury said: "Anthony Joshua, I know you've just lost a fight to Usyk and you're bout-less at the moment, and I'd like to give you an opportunity to fight me for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world and the lineal championship in the next few months.
"You're coming off a 12-round fight, so you're match fit, you're ready. I'm giving you a few months' notice. If you're interested I'll send you the date over and we can rumble.
"A Battle of Britain for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world. Let me know if you're interested. If not, I will select another opponent."
Joshua, who relinquished his belts via unanimous decision to Usyk in London last September, later responded on social media, telling familiar foe Fury to deal directly with his management team.
"Yea calm," Joshua posted. "I don't do the online discussions just for clout, so if your [sic] really about it shout @258mgt. I'll be ready in December."
Fury, unbeaten in all 33 fights as a pro, was expected to face Usyk for the undisputed crown. However, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, also undefeated, is said to want to wait until next year as he rests up following the Joshua bout in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
