Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are getting closer to completing one of the most anticipated boxing fights in recent years. The former heavyweight world champions are negotiating the final details to meet on December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, according to sources cited by DAZN.
The long-awaited duel between the two Britons could be officially announced next week, after months of negotiations that at times suggested that the fight would not finally take place.
Fury had assured at the beginning of September that the fight was ruled out and that his intention was to seek a third fight against the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk. However, the parties would have finally found a point of agreement.
One of the main obstacles was the headquarters. Joshua’s team, led by promoter Eddie Hearn, insisted that the match should be held in the United Kingdom and had been against the possibility of moving it to New York.
The possibility of Fury and Joshua finally sharing the ring has generated enormous expectation among fans, who have been waiting for more than a decade for a confrontation between two of the biggest names in the heavyweight category.
Fury and Joshua arrive with victories
The two fighters recently fought fights considered as a preparation for the expected confrontation.
Fury, 38, defeated Poland’s Mariusz Wach on July 24 in Thailand. The fight ended after seven rounds, when Wach did not come out to fight the eighth.
Joshua, for his part, defeated fellow Pole Kristian Prenga by knockout in the second round the next day, in a fight held in Saudi Arabia.
Although the fight between Fury and Joshua would not have a world title at stake, WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán said last month that the organization would approve the confrontation as an eliminator for the heavyweight world title.
The history of two former world champions
Fury arrives with a professional record of 36 wins, two losses and one draw, with 25 knockouts. The Briton was unified heavyweight champion between 2015 and 2016 and later won the WBC belt in 2020, a title he defended three times before losing it to Usyk in 2024.
Joshua, 36, has a record of 30 wins, four losses and 27 knockouts. The Briton was a two-time unified champion of the category and lost his titles to Usyk in 2021.
His last fight for a world championship ended with a loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
If the negotiations come to fruition, Fury and Joshua could finally star in December in the fight that for years was considered one of the great pending duels in world boxing.
