Anthony Joshua says British rival Tyson Fury must lose two stones in weight before they fight.
The WBA-IBF-WBO world heavyweight champion is open to fighting Fury — a former holder of the same three titles — next year.
Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), 28, defends his belts against Russia’s Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium on September 22 and a $15million deal has been made for American Deontay Wilder, the WBC titleholder, to then fight Joshua at the same venue on April 13.
But Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) is not happy with the terms being offered for a unification fight and Joshua says he would be happy to fight Fury instead.
Fury (26-0, 19 KOs), 29, ended two-and-a-half years of inactivity last month, losing eight stones for his comeback after out-pointing Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015. Fury, who weighed in at 19st 10lbs for the bout with Sefer Seferi in Manchester, is due to fight again on August 18.
“Fury can be the size he wants to be,” Joshua told reporters.
“There’s no stopping him from stepping up. If the Wilder fight didn’t happen, I would happily fight Fury.
“He’s not in condition. He’s still two stones over to when he fought Klitschko. Even though he’s lost weight he’s still two stones over his peak weight.
“When he’s a couple of pounds over, half a stone over, then I’ll say he’s at his peak again.
“What does he do, two sessions a day? I would rather do two boxing sessions a day. Why would you do one boxing session and one run?
“Are you trying to be a part-time boxer and a part-time track runner? Get in the gym. Focus on your gym work. That’s what Klitschko did. The best fighters spent more time in the gym than anywhere else.”