Boxing promoter Kalle Sauerland has claimed that Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury is “done” and will take place in Dublin this autumn.
British heavyweights Joshua and Fury have been linked to each other for years, with a generational showdown long eluding fans.
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However, there is currently hope that Joshua vs Fury may finally materialise – even in spite of a car accident in December, in which “AJ” was injured while two of his teammates were tragically killed.
Anthony Joshua (left) and Tyson Fury have been linked for years (Getty)
Joshua, 36, has returned to the gym since that crash in Nigeria, having recently trained alongside old rival Oleksandr Usyk in the latter’s native Ukraine.
Meanwhile, 37-year-old Fury is due to box Arslanbek Makhmudov on 11 April, as the Briton ends his fifth retirement from boxing.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has hinted at a summer comeback for AJ, which some fans expect will be a warm-up fight for a clash with Fury. And Wasserman promoter Sauerland has suggested that Joshua vs Fury is closer than some may think.
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“AJ-Fury, I’ve heard it’s done for Dublin later this year, so I think that will get announced pretty soon,” he told The Stomping Ground on Friday, ahead of the weigh-in for Derek Chisora vs Deontay Wilder.
Separately, Sauerland told iFL TV: “Fury-AJ, done for apparently autumn in Dublin, fantastic. That’s what I’ve heard, done for Dublin, I think September or October. I don’t know, have I put my foot in it [by revealing that]? That’s what I’ve heard, word on the street.”
The Independent has approached a representative of Joshua for comment.
In his interview with The Stomping Ground, Sauerland went on: “[Chisora vs Wilder] is probably one of three fights that will end this generation [of heavyweights]. AJ-Fury [and] I think Usyk’s last fight, whoever that is.”
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Usyk, who has outpointed Joshua and Fury twice each, will fight kickboxing icon Rico Verhoeven on 23 May. In that bout at the pyramids of Giza, the unbeaten Usyk puts the unified heavyweight titles on the line.
Joshua stopped influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul in six rounds in December (PA Wire)
Fury remains keen on a trilogy bout with the Ukrainian, although public interest in that fight seems to be lacking. Either way, Fury must first overcome Russia’s Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
That London main event follows another in the English capital this Saturday, as Chisora boxes Wilder at the O2 Arena.
Britain’s Chisora, 42, has claimed he will retire after this contest, while 40-year-old Wilder’s own boxing future is up in the air.
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Like Fury, whom Wilder fought three times between 2018 and 2021, the American has long been linked to Joshua. Fury stopped Wilder in 2020 and 2021 after the pair controversially drew in their first fight.
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