Former world champion Tyson Fury has been messaging Anthony Joshua advice and fighting tips as he sees certain flaws in the technique and style of the current king of the heavyweight division.

Fury will return to action on June 9 when he takes on Sefer Seferi (23-1) in a 10-round bout in Manchester. The 29-year-old giant hasn’t fought since dethroning Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015 and will put his unbeaten record on the line against the Albanian knockout specialist.

The “Gypsy King” recently spoke to the Sunday Times and stated that he intends to fight again in September and December – before a possible super-fight with Joshua next year.

He said: “When Klitschko knocked Joshua down in the sixth round, I was pulling out my hair, thinking, ‘Don’t throw it away. Please get up, get up’.

“It might seem strange, but I was willing him to get up and win, because I know that me against him will be the biggest fight ever, the Achilles and Hector of today.”

Fury also spoke of the exchanges that he and Joshua have had via text messages: “I give him advice about the sweet science,” said Fury.

“I believe that if you help others, good things come to you. AJ is an excellent athlete and he’s very good at going forwards and backwards in straight lines.

“I tell him to be confident and to try different moves, not just to bulldoze forwards. He tried that in his last fight against Joseph Parker and he did well. It was a mature performance.”

“Parker showed the world how hard it will be for AJ, if he fights me. Parker adopted my slipping and sliding style, but he wasn’t able to quite pull it off."

The 6ft 9" giant has lost 25kg since returning to training for his fight next month, having struggled with a number of issues outside of the ring since his Klitschko victory.

Fury remains supremely confident that he will regain his belts by defeating AJ next year and return to the very top of the heavyweight division once again.