Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua is a tantalising matchup, a superfight years in the making, but it will likely be decided by one very particular superpower.
These two men – both two-time world heavyweight champions – have fought at the highest level for upwards of 30 years between them and 71 fights in total. They have fought the very best and very often they have come out on top.
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Both men possess a powerful arsenal of offensive weapons, but the result of this fight will hinge on something very different – the power of recovery.
Fury (35-2-1) and Joshua (29-4) have been taken to deep waters and both have been on the canvas multiple times. But it is how they deal with that adversity where the difference lies.
Tyson Fury and the power of recovery
Fury is famed for his ability to handle the greatest of adversity – being blasted to the canvas – and to get up and come back and win. He has proved it against some of the biggest punchers around.
‘The Gypsy King’ was down twice in his first meeting with the devastating Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles back in late 2018, famously somehow getting off the canvas in Round 12 to claim a draw.
Fast forward three years and Fury and Wilder engaged in a trilogy fight in Las Vegas and it was another epic showdown, with a similar outcome. Again Wilder put Fury on the floor twice, but again Fury rose to fight back. This time he would close a stunning show in Round 11 for the knockout win.
Fast forward a further three years to May 2024 and Fury would suffer his first professional defeat in that epic unification showdown vs the great Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia. But even in defeat, the 6ft 9ins giant proved his powers of recovery in astonishing. In many ways, it might have been his finest hour.
In a tumultuous Round 9, Usyk turned the fight on its head with a brutal attack which had a woozy Fury staggering around the ring but somehow managing to stay on his feet. It was a quite incredible spectacle – Fury being battered by a sustained assault but just refusing to go down.
Fury would eventually lose a wafer-thin verdict as Usyk was crowned undisputed heavyweight champion, but he had proved once again that he can emerge from the deepest waters. The way he came back from that Round 9 to more than hold his own in the closing sessions defied belief.
So we know Fury has this superpower, but what about Anthony Joshua?
Where Joshua falls short
Joshua may still be the best finisher in the sport, even at the age of 36 – he is a devastating and concussive puncher who very rarely lets his opponent off the hook. But when he is under fire, things are very different.
The first time we really saw AJ in deep waters came in his first pro defeat, that shocking upset at the hands of late stand-in Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden in 2019. Not only was AJ eventually stopped, he appeared to lack the ring savvy and clear head to cope with the adversity that Ruiz wreaked.
Even more worrying was AJ’s bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion when he challenged Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September 2024. He was down in four of the five rounds en route to a knockout defeat.
AJ looked wide open to vicious counters from Dubois, and the knockout blow as Joshua himself loaded up to try and go for the KO himself. He is a sensational fighter on the front foot, but can appear naive when he is not.
At some stage when Fury and Joshua finally get into the ring in November, either one of them or both of them will be in trouble. How they recover will determine the outcome.
Based on the evidence so far, only one of these superstars possesses that superpower called recovery.
