MIAMI — Boxing is one of darkest trades in the world because of what can transpire in the ring.

Tyson Fury called out Anthony Joshua after 'AJ' said "if I can kill you, I will kill you," regarding his instincts in the ring and his fight with Jake Paul on Friday, live on Netflix.

Fury said in a clip posted to social media: "I've been sent a video of Anthony Joshua talking about if he kills somebody he kills somebody in a boxing ring. I think he's a little bit long in the tooth to be talking like that. He's 37-year-old at the end of his career fighting a YouTuber, a Disney Channel guy who Tommy beat and now he's talking about killing him and all that to try and sell, please.

"He's barking up the wrong tree, idiot. Here's a fun fact, if I ever come across you bum I'm knocking you dead spark out. I ain't a YouTuber or a man half your size. I am him, the man. You're a classless loser coming off a 15-month knockout defeat to a local lad. I can't wait if Jake Paul knocks your spark out you big bum. Get up."

Joshua doubled down on his comments in response to Fury, stating that it’s just a nature of the fight business during the final press conference on Wednesday at The Jackie Gleason Theater at The Fillmore in Miami Beach.

“It’s my job,” Joshua said. “We fight. We’re licensed to kill. I’m sure many people don’t understand it. This is what my job is. I just enjoy what I do. Whatever happens, happens. As long as my hand is raised, that’s what is important, respectfully.

"That’s just the mentality that we have to have as fighters. When you’re in that ring, that’s a dangerous place to be. Anything can happen. You hope that your opponent leaves the ring safely, but if they don’t, you still have to go to bed at night knowing you’ve just done your job; it’s nothing personal.”

Paul was aligned more with Joshua’s comments on the matter than Fury’s.

“Let’s go,” Paul said. “Let’s put on a show for the fans. Let’s go to war. Men have done crazier things throughout human history. This is a modern-day gladiator sport. This is what we’re here to do is f*** each other up and I’m ready. I want his hardest punches. I want there to be no excuses when it’s all said and done and let’s kill each other.”

Joshua and Paul will meet in a sanctioned eight-round heavyweight bout and wear 10-ounce gloves, which is typical for a heavyweight fight. The fight will take place in a 22-by-22-foot ring, which is bigger than the standard 20-by-20-foot ring

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) can’t weigh more than 245 pounds for the fight. The last time he stepped on a scale under that mark was for his rematch against two-time undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in 2022.

Joshua, 36, will be stepping into the ring for the first time since he was dropped four times in a fifth-round knockout loss to former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) on Septemher 21, 2024, at Wembley Stadium. It’ll also mark the 2012 Olympic gold medalist’s second fight in the U.S., as in his lone fight in the States, he was on the wrong end of one of boxing’s biggest upsets, a seventh-round knockout loss to Andy Ruiz at Madison Square Garden in New York in June 2019.

Joshua avenged the loss six months later, defeating Ruiz by unanimous decision in Saudi Arabia to become a two-time unified heavyweight champion.

There’s no way to properly describe the step up in competition Paul will be making to face the 6-foot-6 Joshua. Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) made his debut in Miami in 2020 and has since made a meteoric rise both as a boxer and promoter, leading Most Valuable Promotions. Paul, 28, is coming off a one-sided unanimous decision victory over former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on July 28.

The latest comments from Joshua and Fury are the latest in what has been a persistent war of words between two of the best heavyweights to come from the United Kingdom. Those war of words could soon be taken to the ring, with Riyadh Season planning a bout between them later in 2026 if they can win planned fights before then.

First, though, Joshua has to handle business against Paul and avoid being on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in sports history.