Fury vs. Joshua Is Finally Here. Is It Five Years Too Late?

It has taken more than a decade, multiple failed negotiations, losses by both fighters, and several retirements from Tyson Fury, but we may finally get to see Fury and Anthony Joshua settle their rivalry in the ring.

Fury and Joshua are scheduled to fight on December 11 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff. The bout brings together the two biggest British heavyweights of their generation and two former heavyweight champions whose careers have been intertwined despite never facing off.

At one point, Fury vs. Joshua could have determined the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. That opportunity is long gone. Both men are nearing the end of their careers, and neither enters this fight as the dominant heavyweight champion.

I'm not sure any of that matters. Fury vs. Joshua is one of those fights that boxing needs to happen. It's the missing chapter from two of the most important British boxing careers of the last decade.

And if both men show up ready to fight, it could be one last great fight for both.

Fury vs. Joshua Has Been Years in the Making

It's almost hard to remember a time when boxing fans weren't talking about Fury fighting Joshua.

Fury became heavyweight champion after upsetting Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, ending Klitschko's decade-long championship reign. Fury subsequently spent more than two years outside the ring, during which Joshua emerged as one of boxing's biggest stars and collected three of the heavyweight titles Fury had vacated.

Joshua's own fight against Klitschko helped establish him as a major heavyweight attraction. He survived a knockdown before stopping Klitschko in the 11th round before a massive crowd at Wembley Stadium.

From there, a Fury-Joshua fight seemed inevitable. It wasn't.

The closest we came was probably in 2021. Fury and Joshua's teams signed contracts for a two-fight deal, with the first expected to take place in Saudi Arabia. Then Deontay Wilder won an arbitration ruling enforcing his contractual right to a third fight with Fury. Fury fought Wilder instead, and the Joshua fight disappeared.

Another attempt came in 2022 after Joshua's second loss to Usyk. Fury publicly offered Joshua a December fight, Joshua's management accepted the proposed financial terms, and negotiations began. Fury eventually imposed a deadline to sign the contract and declared the fight off when it passed. Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn maintained that negotiations were still progressing, but once again Fury vs. Joshua didn't happen.

Meanwhile, their careers continued moving in different directions.

Fury completed his memorable trilogy with Wilder before eventually losing consecutive fights to Usyk. Joshua rebuilt following his losses to Usyk, only to suffer another major setback when Daniel Dubois stopped him.

Yet Fury and Joshua kept circling back toward each other.

Now, more than a decade after the fight first became a possibility, they're finally scheduled to meet.

Why Fury vs. Joshua Still Matters

Fury vs. Joshua isn't the fight it would have been five years ago.

If they'd fought in 2021, it would have been for the undisputed heavyweight championship, with two fighters near the height of their careers.

Instead, Fury will be 38 and Joshua 37 by fight night. They've suffered significant losses, and questions about how much either man has left are reasonable. But the history is precisely why I still want to see it.

Fury and Joshua helped define the same era of British heavyweight boxing in completely different ways. Fury ended Klitschko's reign, disappeared from boxing, returned, and produced a memorable trilogy with Wilder. Joshua won Olympic gold before becoming a massive stadium attraction and unified heavyweight champion.

Both eventually ran into Usyk and lost twice. Yet somehow, Fury and Joshua never fought. This fight is all about settling unfinished business between the two defining British heavyweights of their generation. If this is one of the final major fights for both men, it's a fitting one.

My Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua Prediction

Normally, I would look at each fighter's strengths and weaknesses and decide how I expect the matchup to unfold.

This fight is different.

I see Fury vs. Joshua going one of two ways, and both scenarios depend largely on which Anthony Joshua shows up.

My biggest concern comes from Joshua's most recent fight against Kristian Prenga.

Anthony Joshua and The Great White Hype

I watched Joshua's fight against Prenga, and the first thing that came to mind was the 1996 film The Great White Hype.

Instead of Damon Wayans, AJ played James "The Grim Reaper" Roper, and Prenga played Terry Conklin.

The beginning of the fight even played out somewhat like the movie. Prenga dropped Joshua twice in the opening round, including a knockdown approximately 20 seconds into the fight. For a brief period, it looked like we could be watching one of the biggest heavyweight upsets in recent memory.

Then the second round started. Joshua woke up.

It was almost as if someone flipped a switch. The fighter who had looked completely out of sorts suddenly started looking like Anthony Joshua again. He took control and knocked Prenga out in the second round.

What bothered me wasn't simply that Joshua got knocked down. Joshua looked "out of it" to me before Prenga put him on the canvas. I don't know whether Joshua came back too quickly or started the fight on autopilot. Whatever the reason, he didn't appear fully engaged. Luckily, he recovered and secured the knockout. 

The question heading into Fury is whether that opening round was a one-time anomaly or something we could see again.

Because Tyson Fury isn't Kristian Prenga.

Scenario 1: Joshua Shows Up Ready to Fight

If Joshua comes into Cardiff focused and ready to fight, I think we'll get one final great fight from both men.

Joshua remains dangerous enough that Fury has to respect his power. He has the size and offensive ability to make Fury work, and I don't expect a prepared Joshua to simply get steamrolled.

But over 12 rounds, I favor Fury's boxing ability. Fury has spent much of his career showing that he can adapt his style to the opponent in front of him. He can box from range, use his size inside, change pace, and turn an awkward fight into exactly the type of contest his opponent doesn't want.

Against a focused version of Joshua, I think those skills eventually make the difference. Joshua will have his moments, and Fury may have to survive some dangerous exchanges, but I expect Fury to gradually take control and do enough to win on the scorecards.

If both men show up at their best, my prediction is Tyson Fury by decision.

And considering where both fighters are in their careers, that could be the last truly great fight we see from either man. 

Scenario 2: The Prenga Version of Joshua Shows Up

If Joshua starts against Fury the way he started against Prenga, I don't think he gets the same opportunity to wake up.

Prenga had Joshua on the canvas twice and couldn't finish him. Joshua survived the round, regrouped, and made him pay for it. Prenga did not have the killer instinct to take advantage and secure the upset.

Fury is a completely different proposition. If Fury realizes Joshua isn't fully engaged and starts finding openings, I expect him to continue applying pressure rather than allowing Joshua to settle into the fight.

Interestingly, Fury is already talking about taking an aggressive approach. At the launch press conference, he said he intends to meet Joshua in the middle rather than spend the night boxing and moving.

Whether Fury actually follows that game plan is another matter, but an aggressive Fury would make a slow Joshua start considerably more dangerous. If the Prenga fight version of Joshua shows up, the question for me becomes how quickly Fury decides to go after him.

My prediction in that scenario is Fury by knockout or TKO somewhere between rounds five and eight.

If Joshua looks as unfocused as he did against Prenga, we might even be able to rename this one The Great White Hype II.

My Prediction – Fury by Decision

Ultimately, I see Tyson Fury coming out over Anthony Joshua. Fury always shows up for the biggest fights, and he knows there’s no bigger fight out there right now than this one. 

If Joshua shows up focused and performs well, I expect a competitive fight that reminds everyone why we spent so many years asking for this fight. Joshua will have opportunities, but Fury ultimately outboxes him over 12 rounds.

If Joshua doesn't show up mentally engaged from the opening bell, I expect Fury to recognize it and eventually stop him.

For now, I'm going with the version that’s best for boxing.

Will Fury vs. Joshua Actually Happen?

Of course, everything I've just written assumes Fury and Joshua actually step into the ring on December 11.

Fury vs. Joshua has already fallen apart multiple times, and as expected, another controversy developed almost immediately after the latest fight announcement.

The situation has improved since then. Fury and Joshua both appeared at the September 30 launch event in London, where they finally came face-to-face to promote the December fight. The encounter was much more cordial than some expected, and both fighters spoke about the significance of finally bringing the matchup to Britain.

There has also been movement on the promotional dispute. The British Boxing Board of Control reportedly lists Queensberry Promotions, Matchroom Boxing, and Sela as the official promoters rather than Dana White's Zuffa Boxing.

Since White’s involvement was claimed to be a potential sticking point from the Joshua camp, I’m more confident about the fight than I was a few days ago.

But this is Fury vs. Joshua. We've already watched this fight get close enough to touch, then disappear.

So until Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are standing across the ring from each other in Cardiff and the opening bell actually sounds, I'm keeping at least a little skepticism in reserve. Hopefully, this time we finally get the fight.