Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua is finally and officially ON after Netflix announced that the all-British superfight will take place later this year.
The two heavyweight superstars will finally end all the years of waiting when they lock horns on home soil, and it should be an absolute blockbuster.
The announcement from Netflix came in the aftermath of Fury’s return to the ring as ‘The Gypsy King’ easily outpointed the lumbering Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov in London on Saturday night.
READ MORE: Latest heavyweight rankings after Fury vs Makhmudov
Fury – now 37 years old – showed few signs of ring rust as he returned from a 16-month retirement to win by scores of 120-108 (twice) and 119-109.
Afterwards Fury (now 35-2-1) took the mic and threw down a challenge to Joshua (29-4), who was watching from ringside. While Joshua was reluctant to say the fight is definitely done, Netflix went further within minutes.
Netflix confirms Fury vs Joshua
The streaming platform, which broadcast Saturday night’s fight, said on social media: “It’s happening. Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua. This autumn, live from the UK. LIVE only on Netflix.”
The announcement is great news for British fight fans – when this bout was mooted in recent years it looked like Saudi Arabia would be the most likely location.
But with Saudi power broker Turki Alalshikh taking fights far and wide, holding this one in the UK will be a ratings winner.
The fight airing exclusively live on Netflix is also likely to be a massive subscription driver for the streaming platform in the UK. As well as Fury vs Makhmudov, it also aired that Joshua vs Jake Paul showdown in Miami last December.
How much will Fury and Joshua earn?
Both men are likely to earn north of £100m each for one night’s work. This fight has been a long time in the making but its lustre remains strong. So many questions to be answered about this British heavyweight era.
The massive paydays are also despite the fact that neither man currently holds a world heavyweight title.
