Yes, you’ve heard it all before. But Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury is at long last about to become a reality.
On Monday, it emerged the contracts have been signed with the long-awaited Battle of Britain set for October or November this year.
There are a few obstacles still to overcome with a final date and venue still to be confirmed. There is also the small matter of Joshua’s warm-up fight against the unknown Kristian Prenga in July, and the sensational claim that Turki Alalshikh has stipulated Dua Lipa’s presence is required on the night to get the show started.
But all being well, boxing is poised to deliver a fight that has been over a decade in the making.
Is it too little, too late? At 36 and 37 respectively, Joshua and Fury’s best years are firmly behind them. Not too long ago, the pair had all the gold on offer in heavyweight boxing between them. But there will be no belts on the line later this year with both men fading from world title picture in 2026.
For Joshua, there will be the heartache of preparing for a fight without Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, his close friends who were tragically killed in car crash in Nigeria just after Christmas.
‘We don’t know where Anthony is at physically, we don’t know where he’s at mentally, but we’re going to see him in a boxing ring pretty soon,’ former world champion Tony Bellew told Metro via nysportsday.com.
‘So in July he’s going to be fighting again against Kristian Prenga who hasn’t got a huge resume by any means, but still he’s unknown. AJ’s heart can never be questioned but I think he still has more left to prove than Tyson Fury. So there is an argument to say it benefits him more to be fighting at this stage of their respective careers.’
Better late than ever – UK will stand still for Joshua vs Fury will
There is a comparison perhaps to be drawn between this fight and the belated showdown between Amir Khan and Kell Brook in 2022. A genuinely bitter feud, one of the most engrossing in British boxing, burned for 15 years before they finally agreed terms, both at the end of their illustrious careers having had their last world title hopes firmly beaten out of them in the years leading up to it.
The result was an entertaining scrap in Manchester, but one lacking the high-end quality it would have delivered while they were in their respective pomps.
As big as Khan vs Brook could have been, Joshua vs Fury is simply on another stratosphere. Even without world title gold wrapped around their waists, they are still literally and figuratively the towering giants of British boxing. It remains a generational scrap, one that will ensure the country comes to a standstill when the opening bell goes.
So why has it taken so long?
Of course, there is reason for caution. Fury claimed his first world title in 2015 with Joshua collecting his the following year, placing them on collision course.
The seeds had been sowed five years earlier at Finchley Boxing Club when Joshua, then a raw amateur, sparred an 11-0 Fury who offered a Rolex to anyone who could put him on his back. ‘I punched you up when we were kids, and I’ll punch you up again,’ Joshua reminded his rival last month.
In the summer of 2020, the pair agreed terms with Fury proudly thanking Daniel Kinahan, the alleged leader of the Kinahan organised crime group who was arrested last week, for his role in getting the deal across the line. Deontay Wilder scuppered plans on that occasion, with a US judge settling an arbitration case in his favour to trigger a trilogy fight with ‘The Gypsy King’.
Oleksandr Usyk then came along and took the IBF, WBO and WBA titles from Joshua, beating him in a rematch a year later. While ‘AJ’ went away to rebuild, it was Fury’s turn to try and halt the Ukrainian. Like Joshua, he twice fell short, losing his world title in the process.
Over the years, there have been empty offers undermined by bickering promoters, unrealistic deadlines and fanciful demands. Boxing grew disillusioned with many fans accepting the era-defining fight would remain in the realms of fantasy.
Joshua or Fury? Bellew prediction
Joshua or Fury has divided boxing fans for years. Both are different animals in 2026, with more miles on the clock and more vulnerabilities that can be exposed. Joshua suffered a devastating knockout defeat in his last meaningful fight against Daniel Dubois but remains one of the most devastating finishers in the division when he smells blood.
Fury, always deemed the more technically gifted of the two, has made a career out of rising from the ashes. Something has got to give.
‘The way I see it, there are two outcomes: it’s either a Tyson Fury masterclass on points, or this is an absolute demolition job by Anthony Joshua,’ Bellew said.
‘Because if Joshua just lets his hands go and gets close, he has the power, the speed, and the technical ability to wipe Fury out. Everyone will say no one has done it before – but a guy with half the technical ability in Deontay Wilder very nearly did it. Let’s not forget, Francis Ngannou put Fury down and had him in real trouble, and he’d only had one professional boxing match before that.
What I will say is this: if Fury finds himself on the floor against Anthony Joshua, he will get stopped. Anthony Joshua is one of the best finishers in the heavyweight division. When he hurts his man, he gets rid of him 99% of the time.
They have circled each other for years, but the difference perhaps this time is that Joshua and Fury have no one else but each other to be their dance partner. 16 years ago it was a Rolex on the line – this time it could be to the tune of £150million.
Boxing has waited long enough, but we might just get there this time.