Fury vs Joshua has been so close before and never happened, but now it “seems closer than ever” according to hugely respected US writer Dan Rafael.
The former USA Today and ESPN boxing writer now has his own publishing brand and platform, and he wrote this week about the potential for that all-British superfight to finally happen. And potentially, pretty soon.
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We know that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh said earlier this year that he wanted the winner of Joshua vs Francis Ngannou to face the winner of that Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk unification match (now set for May 18).
READ MORE: Tyson Fury record – every fight, result, scorecard and analysis
Joshua (28-3) has already kept up his side of the bargain by absolutely obliterating Ngannou inside two rounds and quite simply he is the hottest heavyweight on the planet right now.
Fury and Usyk meanwhile do have a rematch clause in the contract for their May 18 showdown, but Rafael can foresee a scenario where that does not happen immediately. Specifically that the clamour for that Fury vs Joshua blockbuster becomes too loud.
Dan Rafael on Fury vs Joshua
Rafael wrote: “While Fury and Usyk are tied to each other in a two-fight deal that calls for an immediate rematch, regardless of the winner in May, there is no guarantee the second fight will happen right away – especially if His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi power broker in charge of what fights the country’s General Entertainment Authorities spends it considerable funds on, decides he wants a different fight.
“The biggest conceivable heavyweight fight beyond the undisputed showdown is very obviously Fury (if he beats Usyk) to at long last square off with British countryman and two-time unified titlist Joshua, the biggest star in boxing not named Canelo Alvarez.
READ MORE: Francis Ngannou claims something was WRONG before fight vs Anthony Joshua even began
“The Fury and Joshua camps have discussed the fight at various times but it has not come to fruition for various reasons. Why it hasn’t happened depends on which side one is to believe.
“But with Joshua’s three-knockdown, second-round pulverization of Francis Ngannou, the former UFC champion, in a knockout of the year contender on March 8 in the main event of the “Knockout Chaos” card, the anticipation for Fury-Joshua is once again palpable.”
Fury vs Joshua timeline
This is far from the first time we’ve been close to a Fury vs Joshua showdown for all of the heavyweight world titles of course.
Back in 2021 the pair announced a two-fight deal, with the first set to take place that August in Saudi Arabia. Within hours though Deontay Wilder had won an arbitration ruling to force a trilogy fight vs Fury. The Joshua showdown, was off.
Then in late 2021 all both men seemingly needed to do was win their respective fights to make the big one happen. But while Fury disposed of Wilder in that trilogy match, Joshua lost his titles to Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
READ MORE: Ben Davison reveals the BIG MISTAKE Ngannou made in devastating Joshua loss
In 2022 again we were close, with Joshua just needing to reclaim his titles in a Usyk rematch. But again, no dice as the Ukrainian claimed a points verdict in Jeddah.
Then in late 2022, even though AJ had no belts to bring to the table, Fury (34-0-1) offered the chance of a November/December fight. But despite seemingly serious talks, the deal could not get over the line.
So while we are close again, these false starts should tell us that until these two giants of the game get into a ring together, for a fight against each other, nothing is certain.
