Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have been circling one another for a decade.
Both men are two-time heavyweight champions and superstars of British sport in the modern era.
They are contemporaries, with Joshua aged 36 and Fury 37. Both have lost twice to the great Oleksandr Usyk and are almost certainly on the career downslope.
Yet huge intrigue surrounds both as they return to action this week at a time of flux and transition for the heavyweight division.
Usyk has vacated his remaining belts and Daniel Dubois (WBO), Agit Kabayel (WBC) and Murat Gassiev (WBA) are in possession of the major belts, with the IBF title up for grabs.
But as the two biggest names in boxing’s blue ribband division face up to this changing landscape, fans would have no time for them chasing titles at the expense of facing one another.
MORE: Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga undercard
Is Anthony Joshua fighting Tyson Fury?
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are not fighting one another this week, although both men are in action.
Fury takes on veteran former world title challenger Mariusz Wach over 10 rounds in Thailand on Friday, July 24.
A day later, Joshua tops the bill in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia against Kristian Prenga, an Albanian knockout artist who has mixed in very modest company.
Joshua represents a huge step up for his opponent, but is fighting for the first time since suffering injuries in a fatal car accident last December that claimed the lives of his team members and close friends, Ina Ghami and Latif Ayodele. The trio was on vacation in Nigeria, where Joshua has family roots, following the Briton’s win over Jake Paul in Miami.
Fury returned from his latest retirement with a lopsided points win over Arslanbek Makhmudov at Wembley in April, after which he called out Joshua at ringside.
When is the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight?
Should Fury and Joshua come through their fights this week as expected – defeat for either would be a monumental upset — then they are slated to meet in November this year.
Both men have signed contracts with Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh to make the fight happen, although there are still a few hurdles to overcome.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has stated that his fighter’s contract contains a clause that stipulates the fight must take place in the United Kingdom. However, Alalshikh is a co-founder of Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing and the UFC kingpin has inferred he would like to stage the fight in the United States. Zuffa is 60% owned by Saudi entertainment and events company Sela.
Additionally, Fury has highlighted his status as the WBC’s No. 1 ranked challenger to Kabayel, giving him a clearer route to a title than Joshua currently possesses. While conducting media duties for the Wach fight, Fury expressed doubts over whether Joshua would fight him,
“I can never see that stiff [Joshua] sitting on a table with me like that fella there [Wach],” he told iFL TV. “What the f— is he going to say? I can never actually see him at a press conference with me. It will just be like… a bombardment. I can never see him taking that.”
So, we have no venue, no date and a possible need to renegotiate contracts. Obviously, this will all be absolutely fine…
Has Anthony Joshua fought Tyson Fury before?
Anthony Joshua has never fought Tyson Fury professionally.
The lore around a 2010 sparring session has become ever more enticing during the years of frustration surrounding the pair not squaring off in the prize ring.
Fury himself brought up the spar in an interview with BBC London and spoke highly of the still-amateur Joshua, saying he “gave me a beating.
“If I’d have had a bit of a weak chin, I’d have been knocked out for a month,” he said. “He’s very, very good and he’s only young, 20. Watch out for that name Anthony Joshua – he is one prospect for the future.
“He came out at me for three rounds and he gave me a beating – I’m not going to deny it, he gave me hell for leather for three rounds.”
Fury has, somewhat predictably, strayed from that version of events in the intervening years and repeated his claim this week that Joshua was pulled out of the spar after three rounds. This was not disputed by Joshua’s amateur coach Sean Murphy, who discussed the spar with BBC Radio 5 Live in 2021.
“They’ve come out and Josh has thrown an uppercut, left hook and [Fury] was on wobbly legs!” he said. “He’s holding the ropes and I’m telling him, ‘No, you can’t do that; you can’t hold the ropes’, and he gets off. But Josh got the better of him in the third round.”
Murphy added that Fury demanded a fourth round, but that he pulled Joshua out.
Joshua himself referenced the spar when he and Fury traded barbs following the latter’s win over Makhmudov.
“I’ve never had no problem getting in a ring with you,” Joshua said. “I punched you up when we were kids and, after watching you tonight, I’ll punch you up again.”
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