Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will finally fight one another, it has been confirmed, as the British heavyweights clash in Cardiff on Friday 11 December and live on Netflix.
The news comes after a dispute over the location, which almost saw the super-fight take place at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, in what would have been a highly-controversial move.
Instead, Wales’s Principality Stadium will host the showdown, though ring walks could taking place in the early hours of the following morning – to cater for an American audience.
Joshua, 36, and Fury, 38, are both former two-time world heavyweight champions, and a potential fight between them has been the subject of fierce debate for the best part of a decade.
They previously signed to fight each other in 2021, only for the bout to fall through. On that occasion, Deontay Wilder threatened legal action against Fury, forcing a trilogy fight, in which Fury stopped the American for the second time to retain the WBC belt. Yet Fury’s victory came one month after Joshua was outpointed by Oleksandr Usyk, a result that saw “AJ” lose the unified titles. It was the second loss of Joshua’s career, and his rematch with Usyk in 2022 brought another, before the Ukrainian also outpointed Fury twice in 2024.
Still, Joshua vs Fury never went away as a topic of discussion, even as both men lost their undefeated records and world titles.
In April, Fury returned to boxing after his fifth retirement, beating Arslanbek Makhmudov on points as Joshua watched on from ringside. Soon thereafter, it was confirmed that Joshua vs Fury was signed, although no date or location was confirmed.
Warm-up bouts ensued, with Joshua keen to test himself after a sixth-round win over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December, a bout that played out 10 days before AJ survived a car crash that killed two of his teammates: Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.
Joshua therefore boxed relative unknown Kristian Prenga in July, yet he suffered two shock knockdowns in round one before winning via second-round KO. That fight took place one day after Fury beat a 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in seven rounds in Thailand, with no broadcaster airing the contest.
Around that time, Saudi matchmaker Turki Alalshikh mooted a November date at London’s Wembley Stadium for Joshua vs Fury, though he claimed ring walks would need to take place at 2am GMT to maximise global viewership.
Although Joshua’s contract was for a fight in the UK, the US was also mentioned as a possible location, with Fury’s contract more flexible. Key figures in negotiations, including Fury, pushed for a Stateside venue, but after protestations from Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn, the US did not land the bout.
“Two of the best heavyweights of this generation, finally in the ring together,” Alalshikh said. “This will be one of the biggest fights in boxing history, I am very happy to make this fight happen for the fans.”
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