Anthony Joshua to go head-to-head with Tyson Fury for TV viewers

Anthony Joshua became Britain's newest world heavyweight champion after demolishing International Boxing Federation champion Charles Martin inside two rounds on Saturday night.

The emphatic victory at London's O2 arena "has opened up a world of opportunities" for the boxer, who is now on course for an all-British £40m unification showdown against Tyson Fury, says Gareth A Davies in the Daily Telegraph.

"After just 16 fights, Joshua intends to unify the heavyweight belts inside 18 months, and could earn upwards of £30m for laying waste to the contenders."

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The predictable war of words between Joshua and Fury erupted after soon after Saturday's bout. Fury got the ball rolling by dismissing Joshua on Twitter. "Let me slay the lamb," he wrote.

Joshua responded by telling Fury he should "represent himself like a champion", adding: "He talks like a kid.

"He should be happy I won – it brings some limelight back to the heavyweight division. Why hate on someone who's just trying to get somewhere in life? Once he gets [Wladimir] Klitschko out of the way, me and him can get back to talking."

The pair may go head-to-head sooner than expected, however. Fury takes on Ukrainian Klitschko on 9 July and Joshua could make the first defence of his title on the same date.

"If both Joshua and Fury fight on the same night, it will set up a television war and a popularity contest with viewers," says Davies of the Telegraph.

It might not be a close contest, says Ron Lewis at The Times. "Even if [Joshua] is yet to prove that he is the best heavyweight in the world, he is almost certainly the most popular. If Tyson Fury was painted as a villain after ending the long reign of Wladimir Klitschko last November, Joshua is the perfect hero."

Promoter Barry Hearn has booked Wembley Stadium on 9 July for Joshua's fight, but not everyone believes it will happen.

"Such a proposal is a commercial nonsense," says Kevin Mitchell in The Guardian. "It would not only clash with Fury's announced rematch with Klitschko in Manchester that night, it would bulge to bursting point a weekend sports schedule featuring the Euro 2016 final (which may yet include England), the Wimbledon final, which may involve Andy Murray, and the British Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton prominent on the grid."