After breaking out of his (fifth) retirement to defeat Arslanbek Makhmudov on 11 April, boxer Tyson Fury reignited the hype for the much-teased fight between himself and compatriot Anthony Joshua, calling him out after the victory. In the aftermath of Fury’s challenge, Joshua’s agent Eddie Hearn claimed the two former world champions were in preliminary talks to finally go one-on-one later this year.
While still a salivating matchup, there’s a feeling this is striking while the iron is cool — Joshua is 36 years old, Fury is 37, and neither are at their peak powers anymore and that reflects in their recent output. Joshua hasn’t looked the same since back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk nearly five years ago, and his exhibition with Jake Paul last year wasn’t the quick display many expected, averaging a measly eight punches per round. As for Fury, his 30+ fight undefeated streak came tumbling down in 2024 with similar back-to-back defeats to Usyk in which statistics and casual viewers would agree Fury was the lesser fighter both times. You would be forgiven for saying neither are the boxer in the world currently.
The second wrinkle this fight has is, despite both fighters being among Britain’s best of the last decade, there’s a strong likelihood it won’t actually happen in the UK. A simple look at their fight history makes this clear — only two of Fury’s last five fights happened in Britain, and the same goes for Joshua. Hearn has debunked Ireland’s biggest stadium Croke Park as the venue, so Britain seems even less likely to host. Given both fighter’s track record (and the general trajectory of the sport) this fight will likely occur in Saudi Arabia. It only makes sense, from golfing to football to even professional wrestling and ESports, Saudi Arabia has been taking an increased stake in the world of sports and both Joshua and Fury are now regulars when it comes to competing there. But can the fight really be called a British dream match if the fight is happening thousands of miles away? If neither man can express the interest to hold the event on home turf, can they be trusted to take the fight seriously when it comes?
While that was admittedly speculation, what else worried me is that this fight would have to deliver upon years of waiting. Tim Bradley vs Devon Alexander in 2011 was a hugely anticipated fight between two dominant forces, but when the bell rung, both men were uncharacteristically cautious leading to a matchup way more toothless than anyone wanted. Who’s to say when the day comes Joshua and Fury won’t be any less reserved given both their age and the mammoth paydays they’ll be making? The problem with expectations is when they’re so high, even a just good fight can feel underwhelming, and after all this time Joshua and Fury can’t settle for just good enough.
“Anthony-joshua-6824601 1920” by Steven Batty is marked with CC0 1.0.