Bring it on! Fury and Joshua to clash in December
Published:
Fury v Joshua odds
Excitement is growing for a WBC world heavyweight title clash between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before the end of the year.
Joshua’s camp has accepted Fury’s offer of 40 per cent of the purse for the proposed all-British battle which is set to take place on December 3.
Fury had been searching for a high-profile opponent in his next bout after rival champion Oleksandr Usyk indicated he does not intend to return to the ring until 2023.
Joshua-Fury update:
258 and @MatchroomBoxing can confirm, on behalf of @anthonyjoshua, that we accepted all terms presented to us by Fury’s team for a fight Dec 3rd last Friday.
Due to the Queen’s passing, it was agreed to halt all communication.
We are awaiting a response.
— 258MGT (@258mgt) September 13, 2022
Joshua suffered a second consecutive defeat to the Ukrainian in Saudi Arabia last month and his promoter Eddie Hearn had been considering low-key options for a return early next year.
The two men were due to clash in Saudi Arabia in August 2021, but 24 hours after the announcement was made, a judge in a US arbitration court ruled Fury was contractually obliged to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time which took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, in October 2021.
In my office. @258mgt are in theirs.
Staying on top of business. pic.twitter.com/iPVxJVZPm6
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) September 7, 2022
In one of the best heavyweight fights of all time, Fury was twice sent to the canvas, but took control from the midway point and claimed victory with a clean right to Wilder’s temple for an 11th-round knockout.
Joshua, meanwhile, lost to Usyk for a second time in August this year, in a fight billed as The Rage on the Red Sea, but the judges in Saudi Arabia were unanimous on this occasion unlike at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 11 months earlier when they were split.
Ahead of the anticipated fight we’re looking at the records of the two men in our tale of the tape.
Tyson Fury record
Age: 34
Fights: 33
Wins: 32
Losses: 0
Draws: 1
Knockouts: 23
Height: 6ft 9in
Stance: Orthodox
Reach: 85in
Fury announced his retirement after his last fight in April, a sixth-round TKO against Dillian Whyte, to retain his WBC and Ring heavyweight titles, but several U-turns later and the Manchester man is back in business.
The Gypsy King had hoped to fight Usyk in December, but a unification bout with the Ukrainian is now likely to take place next year, so Fury turned his attention to Joshua for another big pay day.
Although Fury has never lost, he was twice knocked down by Wilder in the first leg of their trilogy, remarkably getting up in the 12th round when it seemed it was lights out for the WBC challenger.
I’ll make it nice and quick for ya @anthonyjoshua pic.twitter.com/2EngHde8xF
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) September 8, 2022
Fury was also dropped by Wilder on a couple of occasions in round four last year, but he got up both times to knock out the Bronze Bomber in the 11th.
That’s the plan for Joshua should they meet in the build-up to Christmas, with Fury telling The Ring magazine: “Do you know how long I’m gonna train for Joshua if that fight comes off? Five weeks. Get in there, knock him out, then on to the next one.”
Anthony Joshua record
Age: 32
Fights: 27
Wins: 24
Losses: 3
Draws: 0
Knockouts: 22
Height: 6ft 6in
Stance: Orthodox
Reach: 82in
Joshua has lost three of his last five fights, the most surprising coming against Andy Ruiz jr at Madison Square Garden in June 2019 with a seventh-round TKO, although six months later AJ avenged that defeat with a unanimous decision.
The 2012 Olympic gold medallist then knocked out Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in the ninth round at Wembley Arena to retain his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles, but relinquished those belts when he met Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 12 months ago.
Another defeat followed in Jeddah in August after which he bizarrely threw two of Usyk’s belts out of the ring, but he now has the chance to resurrect his career by fighting for the WBC and The Ring titles, despite signing a multi-fight deal with DAZN.
A dust-up with Fury, who spent two and a half years out of the ring after beating Klitschko in 2015, is obviously a risk and potentially career-ending, although the WBC champion does not see it that way.
“He would be a massive underdog, so he’s in a win-win situation. If everyone expects him to lose and he beats me, then he’s back on top and bigger than ever,” Fury told The Ring. “And if he’s lost three, what difference does it make if he loses four? Four losses means nothing. Look at Derek Chisora, he’s had 12 losses and he’s still battling away.”
Can Joshua get back to where he was when he knocked out Wladimir Klitschko five years ago?
His recent fights suggest not, but Joshua has the power to catch Fury with one big punch which could be key to his strategy to cause an upset.
In the Usyk rematch, Joshua threw just 492 punches to the 712 of his quicker opponent, who landed 170 compared with 124 by the Brit.
Joshua will need to make big improvements in those areas if he is to become a world heavyweight champion once again.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
