Fury vs. Joshua

Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua Fight

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are suddenly and shockingly close – it appears – to finally meeting inside a boxing ring.

They were on the brink of facing off in Saudi Arabia in August 2021, but there was hope again in 2022 that the dream match could at last be on. That was until Oleksandr Usyk outpointed Joshua for a second time in their Jeddah rematch in August.

Now though, with Usyk apparently preferring to wait until 2023 for a unification fight, Fury has a free date in his calendar. And he has offered Joshua a shot at has WBC and lineal heavyweight titles later this year, in the UK. We have even better news now with confirmation that AJ has agreed to all terms offered for a showdown on Saturday December 3.

Fury and Joshua remember had appeared all set to clash for the first time on Saturday August 14, 2021, with an immediate rematch in November or December. Promoter Eddie Hearn had announced on March 15 that contracts had been signed for a two-fight deal.

But on May 17, just 24 hours after Fury had gleefully confirmed the date and venue, disaster struck. An arbitration ruling from the United States said Fury must resurrect his failed trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder. Or find a suitable resolution or extension.

Fury duly knocked out Wilder in their third meeting, but  Joshua lost his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles to Ukrainian maestro Oleksandr Usyk by unanimous decision at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Fury and Usyk currently hold all the major heavyweight titles – Fury is the WBC, Ring magazine and lineal king while Usyk is the IBF, WBA and WBO champion.

Tyson Fury, now at the age of 34, is the outspoken larger-than-life ‘Gypsy King’ from northern England who stunned Wladimir Klitschko to become world champion in 2015 before depression and massive weight gain almost wrecked his career. His road to redemption has been an incredible story – crowned by a devastating destruction of the hitherto unbeaten ‘Bronze Bomber’ Deontay Wilder as Fury won back the world heavyweight title in February 2020.

The Morecambe behemoth (now 32-0-1 as a pro) has come a long way since his premature birth weighing just one pound. His father John Fury named him after former heavyweight king Mike Tyson. Nowadays a Fury fight is special stuff – and not just for fight night itself. The man brings pure theatre to any press conference he takes over.

Joshua (24-3), at the age of 32, meanwhile is the powerful superstar from Watford who ruled at amateur level to claim super-heavyweight gold at the 2012 Olympics in his home city. Then he blasted his way through the professional ranks.

Just like Fury, AJ enjoyed a career-defining night against Wladimir Klitschko. He defeated the valiant Ukrainian great in an epic Wembley showdown in April 2017. Joshua suffered a shock first pro defeat by late stand-in Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden in New York in June 2019, but quickly avenged that seventh-round TKO loss by regaining his belts with a comprehensive points victory in Saudi Arabia in December 2019. More recently he knocked out Kubrat Pulev in nine rounds in December 2020 to retain his titles. Then came those devastating losses to Usyk.