Despite being years overdue, one of the biggest fights in British heavyweight boxing could still be made.
Heavyweight titans Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have danced around fighting each other for years, but the fight never came to fruition. Now that both men have tasted defeat – with Fury recently losing in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk – fight fans are closer than ever to receiving the fight, even if it is bittersweet timing.
Joshua, who has also lost to Usyk twice, knows his time at the top is limited, and a Fury fight is on the cards for his next appearance – to go out with a bang.
Anthony Joshua says Tyson Fury fight needs to happen this year
Speaking to TNT Sports Boxing, Joshua dropped a bombshell retirement hint before entertaining the Fury fight once again.
“I haven’t got many years ahead of me,” Joshua admitted. “I’ve had more years behind me, I don’t have that many in front of me, so what I want to do is leave the game with a bang. … Go for the good fights, and Tyson Fury is one of them.
“Yeah [it’s the biggest fight in boxing] … It has to happen this year.”
‘Long way to go’ on Joshua-Fury, says promoter Eddie Hearn
Matchroom Promoter Eddie Hearn is also up for the Joshua-Fury fight. Speaking to The Stomping Ground at The Ring awards show, Hearn jested that Turki Alalshikh’s influence could be forcing some fights together that otherwise wouldn’t happen.
“Fights will get made [tonight], who knows what else is going to happen,” Hearn admitted. “I’ve seen on my table Canelo Alvarez is sitting two seats away from Oscar [De La Hoya], Devin [Haney] is sitting two seats away from Ryan [Garcia], I actually think it might just be His Excellency on a whole load of f***ery.
“Hopefully business will be done tonight for sure. Hopefully, Benn-Eubank, and maybe even some beginnings on Fury-AJ. Obviously there’s a long way to go on the latter. But they’re two fights that must happen.”
Alalshikh has Fury-Joshua on his five-fight wish list for 2025.
With the current boxing trend in Saudi Arabia, fans should be privy to a Fury-Joshua showdown soon. The stakes might not be as high, but as Hearn says, it’s a fight that needs to happen.
Saudi’s next big boxing card is being hailed as the most stacked night of boxing ever. Taking place on February 22, ‘The Last Crescendo‘ features seven world title fights.
- Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2; Undisputed light heavyweight
- Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker; IBF Heavyweight
- Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield; WBC Lightweight
- Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz; WBC Middleweight
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israel Madrimov; WBC Interim Super Welter
- Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel; WBC Interim Heavyweight
- Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith; WBC Interim Light Heavy