Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury: Will boxing fans ever see the British super-fight?

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have been circling each other for years. The two pre-eminent British heavyweights of the last decade have been in and out of negotiations at numerous points over their long careers. The fight seems to make more sense now than ever, with neither man having a better option. And yet we still await Fury vs Joshua.

Read on as I try to answer the question that has dogged British boxing. Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury: will the fight ever happen?

Joshua vs Fury Odds

You can back AJ at 13/8 with us, with the KO loss to Daniel Dubois damaging his chances in the betting. Fury is 1/2, having never lost to anyone except the incredible Oleksandr Usyk during his career. The draw is marketed at 16/1 if you cannot split the pair. The stalemate has an implied probability of 5.9%.

Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury: Will the fight ever happen?

At one point this would have been the biggest all-British fight ever staged. In 2016, when Fury relinquished the WBA, WBO and The Ring titles he had won with a legendary performance against Wladimir Klitschko, the reigning IBF king was Joshua. But Fury’s well-publicised mental health issues scuppered the Klitschko rematch he had signed up for. With that bout cancelled and his titles forfeited, the Mancunian did not compete for three years.

During that 2015-2018 period, Joshua ascended to the throne as the world’s best heavyweight. The Olympic gold medalist iced weak IBF champion Charles Martin in two rounds that brought to mind a young Mike Tyson hammering Trevor Berbick. Chinning Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina in his first two defences helped the perception.

AJ had to listen to the shouts from the sidelines about how Fury was still the rightful champion. Most of that crowing came from ‘The Gypsy King’ himself. Public opinion started to turn. Fury’s inspirational comeback from battling his demons culminated in a ring return. Wins over Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta. Then came a dramatic draw in an instant classic with WBC kingpin Deontay Wilder.

Fury climbed off the canvas and into the hearts of British fight fans in round 12 when all looked lost. The draw perhaps flattered Wilder. But Fury emerged the real winner. Still the lineal champion, as he was keen to remind everyone. But the people’s champion too.

The backlash started to find Joshua. Some of that resistance occurred merely because he had yet to beat Fury, the man who beat the man. Despite Joshua holding three of the sanctioning body belts, and The Ring’s prestigious title, Fury was viewed as the real champion. 

Fury did express interest in fighting the winner of the rematch. After Joshua won every round against a hopelessly out-of-shape Ruiz in December of that year, Tyson derided his rival’s performance as “double s***” in The Sun, before adding “Me and him have to fight”.

But fight they did not. Oleksandr Usyk is perhaps largely to blame for that. The unbelievable Ukrainian scotched AJ’s title ambitions once and for all, dethroning him in 2021 before retaining his crown in 2022. Fury kept winning and kept his WBC belt, knocking off Dillian Whyte (dominantly), Derek Chisora (needlessly) and Francis Ngannou (barely).

But ‘The Cat’ pounced on him too. Usyk beat Fury in back-to-back title bouts last year. The first was for the undisputed crown before the boneheaded IBF stripped Usyk for fighting Fury in the contracted rematch. 2024 saw the pair share 24 rounds in Saudi Arabia, with Usyk winning more than enough to end Fury’s unbeaten run, four-year WBC title reign and nine years spent as lineal heavyweight champion.

Talk turned to Fury and Joshua fighting each other once more. Fury has retired, un-retired and re-retired since last December, without fighting at any point. ‘The Gypsy King’ has told all and sundry that the trilogy with Usyk is the fight he wants. But given the fact he is 2-0 down in the series, one wonders if this is merely an obstacle the 37-year-old is putting between himself and a fight with AJ.

Joshua seems more up for the bout. His promoter Hearn told Betfred TV last month “It’s really down to Tyson Fury. We’re ready to go.” before adding, “I think Tyson wants it. I know Tyson is not scared of AJ”. 

Since then, little has moved forward in terms of the Joshua vs Fury fight taking place. Fury was asked by Sky Sports earlier this month if he would fight again, replying “Never.” Meanwhile, according to the Joshua camp, credible talks for a fight with social media nuisance Jake Paul are in progress. A smokescreen? Or the end of heavyweight boxing as we know it?

I am fairly confident that Joshua vs Fury will happen. Neither boxer is likely to secure a third fight with Usyk, considering their combined 0-4 record against the champion. A fight for a vacant title, if the Ukrainian misses one of his four mandatories as is sadly likely in the braindead world of the sanctioning bodies, would ring hollow. The two Brits squaring off is the only fight that makes sense for either.

There is the possible exception of a Wilder fight for AJ, considering ‘The Bronze Bomber’ was long seen as his American counterpart in parlaying Olympic success and vicious power into a portion of the heavyweight crown. But the Alabama man looks tired and washed-up. Nothing can be gained by watching a flagging-but-fresher Joshua trounce him. 

Nope, Joshua vs Fury is the play. Their promoters know it. Turki Alalshikh, boxing’s unofficial overlord, knows it too. The fans have little desire to see either man face Usyk, Wilder, Paul or even Dubois, the most recent Brit to actually hold a version of the heavyweight title. Hearn told us to expect a November date for Joshua against “a top 15 guy”. After that, don’t be surprised if Fury’s latest retirement is lifted long enough to finally give this decade-long story some sort of ending.

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