Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are two of the very best heavyweight boxers in the world right now, but time is running out to be the best.
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have had up and down spells in their professional lives, with the British duo heading into their next fights in very different moods.
Joshua is gearing up to face Daniel Dubois on 21 September at Wembley Stadium, London and Fury is preparing to face Oleksandr Usyk in their highly-anticipated rematch on 21 December.
Should both win their respective bouts, an all-English affair could take place to become the unified champion of the heavyweight division.
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Johnny Nelson claims Anthony Joshua is a better heavyweight than Tyson Fury
After suffering back-to-back defeats against Usyk, Joshua has re-established himself with three victories over Jermaine Franklin, Otto Wallin, and Francis Ngannou, bringing himself back into the fold for belt contention.
His face-off against Dubois in London will set the winner up to take on whoever emerges victorious in the Fury vs Usyk rematch.
As for the ‘Gypsy King’ he is aiming to regroup after suffering the first defeat of his professional career to Usyk back in May 2024.
Usyk is the best heavyweight fighter in the world based on current form however former WBO cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson believes that Joshua is in a better place to challenge the Ukrainian for the top spot.
He told Seconds Out: “Usyk is obviously number one, and with AJ’s last few performances you have got to put him at number two and Tyson Fury at number three.
“People need to let go of their blind loyalty and just look at the fights, what you see and how it’s done.
“It’s heavyweight boxing. Anybody who gets hit on the chin is gonna get hurt. Look at Tyson Fury against a jumped up, blown up middleweight allegedly.”
Will we see Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury happen?
The likelihood is that there are only two possible situations that could see Joshua and Fury go head-to-head.
Scenario one: Joshua beats Dubois and Fury beats Usyk to set up an undisputed heavyweight clash.
Scenario two: Joshua and Fury both lose their respective fights and decide to fight each other.
In all honesty, the only real outcome is if they both win. It feels inevitable that if Fury were to lose to Usyk, he would hang the gloves up for good.
Neither Joshua nor Fury are in the prime of their careers. Both are well into their 30s, are two of the highest-earning heavyweights in the world, and are close to reaching the end of their time at the top.
The two have also expressed their desire to make this fight happen however if Joshua’s prediction of Usyk vs Fury II is anything to go by, it is more of a pipe dream than reality.
Until it’s confirmed though, let’s hold out hope that these two stars will meet and give us the fight everyone needs.