AJ vs Fury: ‘It is a fight I believe we will see happen’ says Matchroom Boxing CEO

“It is a fight I believe we will see happen”. The words of Matchroom CEO Frank Smith, speaking to me this week ahead of the David Allen vs Arslanbek Makhmudov fight. From the ‘White Rhino’ to British boxing’s white whale. Because the bout Smith was talking about is the long-debated, all-British blockbuster; Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury.

Read on as we share the thoughts of the Matchroom inner sanctum on AJ vs Fury.

With Fury recently hinting at one of his half-comebacks, talk has inevitably turned to two fights. One that people desperately want and one that seems to serve no purpose whatsoever. On the side of the angels is AJ vs Fury, the two most prominent British heavyweights in the post-Lennox Lewis era. But the demon on the sport’s shoulder is Fury facing Oleksandr Usyk for a third time.

The appeal of the latter is obvious for Fury, but non-existent for everyone else. Of course ‘The Gypsy King’ wants a chance to claim the undisputed heavyweight championship. Of course Fury wants to avenge the only professional defeats on his record. But name me a classic boxing trilogy where one of the boxers lost the first two fights consecutively. And no, Tyson, you cannot cite your needless trio of victories over Derek Chisora.

Even ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson’s 5-1 record in his six fights with Jake LaMotta saw ‘The Raging Bull’ win the second outing. And that was a very different time, of course. For context, Robinson fought four times in the five months that separated their first two contests. During the same period, LaMotta boxed in six professional fights. 

Fury last boxed four times in a year in 2011. Usyk did so in 2014. Not a dig at the current crop, just some much-needed context on why a trilogy makes very little sense between the heavyweight greats. Both are in their late-30s now. Why go over old ground?

Especially when, for Tyson, there is really only one fight left. Smith put it best when I asked him about the potential Fury comeback. “I think the Anthony Joshua fight is the fight that makes the most sense.”

When pressed on whether Fury’s purported return indicated a return to the negotiating table, Frank was coy but confident. “Is it done? No. But it is a fight I believe we will see happen.” Definitive words from one of the men with the power to grease the wheels. 

The Matchroom Boxing CEO, along with Matchroom Sports Chairman Eddie Hearn, will be one of those potentially locked in talks with Queensberry’s Frank Warren and, inevitably, Riyadh Season and The Ring head honcho Turki Alalshikh.

There was no indication of the potential location and date for the bout, which is unsurprising at this stage. But Smith’s confidence was telling. “Is it the start of next year? The end of next year? Who knows. But I do believe we’ll see that. It’s too big of a fight not to happen.”

Never a truer word spoken. AJ vs Fury would be the biggest all-British heavyweight fight in modern boxing history. Lennox Lewis’ 1993 KO of Frank Bruno was a huge event. But ‘The Lion’ had yet to reign as undisputed champion and Bruno’s miracle vs Oliver McCall was still two years away. 

David Haye’s battles with Audley Harrison, Chisora and Tony Bellew captured the public interest, albeit only the first one lived up to the hype. ‘Del Boy’ has been a reliable source of all-British bangers, contesting crackers with Dillian Whyte, the mixed bag of the Fury trio and David Price. Whyte himself has been in with Joshua and Fury in massive fights. Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke gave us two dramatic nights recently.

But this feels different. The defining heavyweights of the last 10 years are Fury, Joshua, Usyk and Deontay Wilder. Perhaps with a special mention for Andy Ruiz Jr., the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it unified champion back in 2019. Every era needs a ‘Buster’ Douglas or Hasim Rahman, after all. But whichever way you slice it, AJ and Fury will go down in the annals of history for their achievements.

What a crying shame, then, if we never see them engage in combat. Both have seen better days. Daniel Dubois did a number on Joshua last year while Fury is bouncing back from a pair of losses to Usyk. If anything, that makes this fight more obvious. Because is there really anyone else that the fans are hugely keen to see AJ or Fury fight? Nobody wants them to complete an Usyk trilogy. Dubois has just been humbled by the Ukrainian, so an AJ rematch would feel lukewarm. Do we really need to see Moses Itauma take the torch from either of them?

But Frank Smith believes in this fight and hopefully he is right. The Matchroom exec has a preferred outcome if we do get that heavyweight attraction. “I can’t wait for AJ to dethrone ‘The Gypsy King’.” Those are fighting words. Hopefully they lead to a massive fight.

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