Mike Tyson has said he will always back one man to emerge victorious in an all-British heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

The former two-time world champions completed their respective warm-up fights this weekend, albeit with ‘AJ’ having to survive two knockdowns against Kristian Prenga.

Remarkably, the 36-year-old was floored by a right uppercut within the first 20 seconds of their contest, before hitting the canvas once more in the opening round.

These knockdowns were made even more dramatic by the fact that, prior to Saturday evening, Prenga was given virtually no hope of an upset in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Joshua, meanwhile, was heavily favoured to win via an early stoppage, which ultimately materialised after he dropped his opponent in round two.

Conversely, Fury appeared to encounter no real drama against the 46-year-old Mariusz Wach, who afforded him seven rounds of low-risk action in Thailand.

As a result of their victories, it now seems as though the wheels are in motion for Fury and Joshua to collide later this year, with an official announcement expected to emerge before long.

But even without having reviewed their latest performances, Tyson has told Ring Magazine that he will always favour ‘The Gypsy King’.

“If Tyson comes in right and avoids those punches, it’s going to be interesting. Joshua’s a fast puncher.

“I love Tyson Fury. [The fact he is named ‘Tyson’ is] why I can never go against him.”

Prior to his stoppage victory over Wach on Friday, Fury ended 16 months of inactivity by unanimously outpointing Arslanbek Makhmudov in April.

Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has backed the team to win the upcoming two-match away Test series against Sri Lanka. The opening Test is scheduled to be played at the Galle International Stadium in Galle from August 15-19, while the second will be held at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo from August 23-27.

This will be India’s first Test tour of Sri Lanka since 2017. On that occasion, the Virat Kohli-led side completed a 3-0 clean sweep over the hosts.

Speaking during a discussion on his YouTube channel (Wasim Jaffer Official), the 48-year-old predicted a 2-0 series win for the visitors. He stated that Shubman Gill’s team is much stronger than Sri Lanka on paper and added that anything less than a clean sweep would be a disappointing outcome. He said:

“I would say India should win the series 2-0. If you look at both teams on paper, the Indian side is much stronger. So, if India don’t win the series 2-0, it would be a disappointing outcome. Sri Lanka is a very good team, there’s no doubt about that. But on paper, I feel we are much stronger.”

Overall, the two sides have faced each other in 46 Tests, with India winning 22, Sri Lanka claiming seven victories, and 19 matches ending in draws.

“I think the No. 3 position suits him well” – Wasim Jaffer backs southpaw ahead of Sri Lanka series

In the same discussion, Wasim Jaffer stated that Sai Sudharsan is a solid player who will continue to improve with every game, adding that the No. 3 position suits him well. He suggested that the team should continue with the same top four of KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sudharsan, and Shubman Gill, which featured in the one-off Test against Afghanistan last month. He said:

“As far as Sai is concerned, all the selectors and even the captain have said that they want to give him a long rope. He also performed well in the recent series, so I believe he deserves that opportunity. He’s a good player, a solid player, and he’s only going to improve. He’s the kind of character who will just keep getting better. I think the No. 3 position suits him well. Shubman is batting at No. 4 and has been batting really well, so I don’t see the top four positions changing anytime soon.”

The southpaw has featured in seven Tests so far, scoring 383 runs at an average of 31.91, including three half-centuries, with a best score of 87.