FORMER world boxing heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua recently carved out contrasting victories to stay on course for a highly anticipated showdown.
Briton Fury found himself in far-flung Thailand last July 24 where he carved out a pedestrian seventh round technical knockout win over Mariusz Wach. The fight was just a glorified sparring session. Fury improved to 36-2, 1 draw, with 25 knockouts.
A day later, July 25, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, fellow Briton and former champion Joshua struggled big time before taming Kristian Prenga in two action-packed rounds. Joshua was knocked down twice in the opening round and barely survived.
Fortunately, Joshua recovered and knocked Prenga cold in the second stanza with a vicious right hand. Joshua raised his record to 30-4 with 27 knockouts.
With the victories, Tyson and Joshua stayed in contention for a possible fight later this year. Truth be told, the all-British showdown must be made now as it risks being overmarinated.
Tyson and Joshua came closing to trading punches in 2021. In fact, they even inked a two-fight contract.
The first fight was supposed to happen on Aug. 14, 2021 in Saudi Arabia. Back then, Fury was the WBC heavyweight champ while Joshua was the unified WBA,WBO, and IBF champ. The two ruled the heavyweight division.
The fight fell through when an American arbitrator directed Fury to honor a third fight contract with Deontay Wilder. Fury battled Wilder on Oct. 9, 2021, and stopped him in 11 rounds to retain the WBC title.
Joshua, on the other hand, opted to defend his unified belts (WBA, WBO and IBF) on Sept. 25, 2021. Joshua lost the unified belts to Ukrainian challenger Oleksandr Usyk via unanimous decision.
Another plan was hatched for Fury and Joshua to fight in December 2022. Joshua already accepted the financial terms, but talks collapsed when WBC champ Fury claimed Joshua missed a cutoff deadline.
Fury instead battled Usyk in May 2024 for the undisputed world heavyweight title (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF) and lost on points. They met again in December 2024, this time for the WBA, WBC and WBO titles only.
Usyk, who vacated the IBF throne to pursue the return bout with Fury, won again via decision.
Briton Daniel Dubois picked up the IBF belt vacated by Usyk and went on to defend the title against Joshua on Sept. 21, 2024. The hard-hitting Dubois knocked out Joshua in five rounds.
Fury is now 37 years old and no longer holds a belt.
Joshua is 36 years old and is also without a title. He came close to getting knocked out in his last fight against Prenga.
The Fury-Joshua showdown, once the hottest ticket in boxing, has lost considerable momentum. Still, a final push is being made to bring the fight into fruition.
The fight is tentatively being eyed for November at a still undetermined venue. The Wembley Stadium is easily the ideal venue for the all-British heavyweight fight, but Turki Alalshikh, who is promoting the fight, has said that he wants the bout to cater to a global audience. The Wembley Stadium observes an 11 p.m. curfew and Alalshikh wants the time extended. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, claimed Alalshikh is eyeing a venue in the United States but the signed contracts point to the United Kingdom as the host country.
Hopefully, all the gridlocks will be ironed out. This could be the last time the fight can be made as Fury and Joshua are no longer the same fighters.
Fury, whose peak came in 2020-21 with the two victories over Wilder, saw a diminution in his skills and confidence after the back-to-back losses to Usyk in 2024. The years of partying and drinking appear to have caught up with Fury.
Joshua is in a tougher bind. He was bamboozled in five rounds by Dubois in 2024 and barely escaped defeat against Prenga. Joshua’s right hand still packs a wallop, but the guy’s chin has become as fragile as a sandcastle.
Joshua had suffered devastating knockout losses to Andy Ruiz and Dubois.
Oh, Prenga was supposed to be a soft touch, but he knocked down Joshua with a vicious uppercut 30 seconds into the first round.
Fight fans will still pay good money to see Fury-Joshua. This early, Fury has emerged as the smart money bet owing to Joshua’s suspect chin.
For the record, the last world heavyweight title fight to feature British boxers happened last May 9, with Dubois winning the WBO heavyweight title with an electrifying eleventh round knockout of Fabio Wardley.
The fight is a surefire candidate for Fight of the Year.
Hopefully, Fury-Joshua will be as good as the last all-British serving.
