Welcome to the banana-peel weekend of heavyweight boxing.
No, neither Anthony Joshua nor Tyson Fury have been sponsored by Chiquita or Dole at the time of writing, but both are embarking on their final boxing hurdles before a potential “Battle of Britain” later this year.
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You know the deal by now.
This fight should have taken place anywhere between five and 10 years ago, but boxing politics, retirements, injuries, contractual disputes, Netflix series, auntie’s weddings, dentist appointments and a night in on the sofa with a nice rom-com all got in the way of their long-awaited touching of gloves.
Until Tyson Fury’s lackluster points victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, these two giants hadn’t even been seen in the same room together. Joshua refused to be goaded into the ring that night inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so maybe it’s wishful thinking to expect them to go head-to-head at some point this weekend?
If you’re willing to check the flight path and times from Pattaya, Thailand to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, then be my guest. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the best of all of this weekend’s boxing action.
Soon. (Maybe?)
(Mark Robinson via Getty Images)
1. Joshua and Fury star in “The One Where They Almost Agree To Fight”
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury aren’t “Friends,” but they are doing an excellent job of stringing out their story as long as the hit television sitcom.
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Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs) and Fury (35-2-1, 24 KOs) fight within 24 hours of each other this weekend, both in tune-ups designed to make them feel a little bit better about themselves afterward.
On Friday, Fury takes on Mariusz Wach (39-13, 20 KOs) behind closed doors in Pattaya, Thailand, before Anthony Joshua locks horns with Kristian Prenga (20-1, 20 KOs) — live on DAZN — in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night.
These are the fights before the fight, as these two British heavyweight behemoths rev their engines on a collision course that has taken more than a dozen detours.
In an ideal and normal world, Turki Alalshikh and the puppeteers of power behind this fight would have got it all signed, sealed and delivered ahead of this weekend.
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But don’t hold your breath, folks.
We still don’t appear to have a date or a venue for Joshua vs. Fury, so a head-to-head or official unveiling looks unlikely on the weekend that was designed to do just that.
That’s boxing!
2. Will the loser of Tszyu vs. Spence Jr. retire?
Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) heads Down Under this weekend to make his return to boxing after three years out of the ring.
And he’s not returning through an easy door.
Spence fights the battle-hardened Tim Tszyu (27-3, 18 KOs) on away soil in Sydney on Saturday, in what is comfortably the hardest fight to call of the weekend.
Spence hasn’t been the same fighter since his car crash in October 2019. He has gone 2-1 since suffering those life-altering injuries, beating Danny Garica and Yordenis Ugas, before eating a career-defining loss to Terence Crawford in 2023 for welterweight supremacy — our last, real in-ring memory of “The Truth.”
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Tszyu, 31, has been to hell and back with Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora over the past three years, going 3-3 since the start of 2024.
Now, up at middleweight for the third fight on the spin, the Australian is attempting to breathe new life into a career that is threatening to go out with a whimper.
Spence’s trainer, Ronnie Shields, has all but confirmed that Spence will hang up his gloves if he suffers defeat to Tszyu, and if it goes the other way, questions will inevitably be asked of the Australian that seems to always come up short on the biggest stage.
Is Saturday the final time we see Errol Spence Jr. in a boxing ring?
(Al Bello via Getty Images)
3. Zuffa Boxing 9 heads to the basement of MSG
Forget Dana White’s basement at the Meta Apex, Zuffa Boxing is leveling up this weekend in the basement world, checking into Madison Square Garden’s cellar.
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With Zuffa’s ninth show, Edgar Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) has been handed a stern test against Montreal’s Steven Butler (38-5-1, 32 KOs) in front of some home support in New York City.
Berlanga, 29, is looking for a makeover in the boxing world.
The braggadocios super middleweight wants to be known more for his ring IQ and skill following a humbling loss to Hamzah Sheeraz last summer, rather than his power and flashy personality.
This starts on Sunday against Butler — an opponent who Berlanga can’t afford to take lightly under the Zuffa Boxing spotlight.
Edgar Berlanga and Steven Butler headline Zuffa Boxing’s first New York show.
(Rob Kim via Getty Images)
4. Kelly defends his IBF super welterweight title against Agyarko
It may not carry the same pick’em feeling that Tszyu-Spence has this weekend, but Josh Kelly vs. Caoimhin Agyarko for the IBF’s 154-pound strap could easily materialize into one of the fights of the weekend.
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Josh Kelly (18-1-1, 9 KOs) punched through the glass ceiling of his career back in January, dethroning Bakhram Murtazaliev in an up-and-downer for his maiden world crown.
That majority decision win has led to a meeting with the most spellchecked man in boxing: Ireland’s unbeaten Caoimhin Agyarko (18-0, 9 KOs). This first title defense lands in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the Joshua-Prenga undercard, and Kelly will have to be on form to negate the dangers that “Black Thunder” brings.
Attempting to become Ireland’s “first Black world champion,” the 29-year-old Agyarko is as hungry as they come in terms of challengers, promising to “steamroll” the English Olympian as he steps into the biggest fight of his career.
5. “Boo Boo” Andrade returns in a dust-shaker
It truly is the weekend of boxing returns, as Demetrius Andrade looks to throw his hat back into the super middleweight ring after 32 months out of action.
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Andrade (32-1, 19 KOs) hasn’t been seen since a comprehensive loss to David Benavidez in 2023, the solitary blotch on his record that has only looked better with age.
Prior to that, Andrade held the WBO’s middleweight title for what felt like a decade (three years) defending against an array of underwhelming 160-pounders including Artur Akavov and Luke Keeler.
Andrade, now 38, has never been the most exciting of fighters, but his name still warrants attention. Who knows, a win over Brazil’s Douglas Ataide (20-5-1, 11 KOs) this weekend in Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena, could springboard him into a big fight at the weight without really deserving it.
Andrade has always seemed like a good dude, so we certainly wouldn’t begrudge “Boo Boo” for that.
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