Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury finally confirmed with date and venue revealed

The Wembley Stadium was long considered the natural venue to stage this generation’s biggest stars but the challenge in satisfying US broadcasting demands meant Cardiff became the more realistic option with its retractable roof ensuring fight fans won’t be left out in the cold.

The venue, then the Millennium Stadium, hosted Joe Calzaghe for his world title clash with Mikkel Kessler in 2007 in a bout that started at 2am local time to accommodate American audiences.

A similar start time is expected when Joshua and Fury finally make their ringwalks just weeks before Christmas.

The story of Joshua vs Fury – will it be worth the wait?

Fury and Joshua have been circling each other for years in a rivalry that almost passed us by.

‘The Gypsy King’ claimed his first world title in 2015 with Joshua collecting his the following year, placing them on collision course.

Before that, there were the sparring stories. The seeds were sowed five years earlier at Finchley Boxing Club when Joshua, then a raw amateur, sparred an 11-0 Fury who offered a Rolex to anyone who could put him on his back. ‘I punched you up when we were kids, and I’ll punch you up again,’ Joshua reminded Fury in April this year.

In the summer of 2020, the pair agreed terms with Fury proudly thanking Daniel Kinahan, the alleged leader of the Kinahan organised crime group who was arrested in April. last week, for his role in getting the deal across the line. Deontay Wilder scuppered plans on that occasion, with a US judge settling an arbitration case in his favour to trigger a trilogy fight with Fury thanks to a rematch clause.

Oleksandr Usyk then came along and took the IBF, WBO and WBA titles from Joshua, beating him again in a rematch a year later. ‘AJ’ went away to rebuild, with Fury then taking his shot at Ukrainian in what was heavyweight boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight title fight in two decades. Like Joshua, Fury twice fell short, losing his world title in the process.

Over the years, there have been empty offers undermined by bickering promoters, unrealistic deadlines and fanciful demands. In 2022, Fury offered Joshua a shot at his WBC title with the familiar old game playing out. Fury went onto fight Derek Chisora for a third time instead.

Over the last 18 months, both have faded from the world title picture. Joshua’s devastating knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024 ended his hopes of becoming world champion for a third time. He has fought twice since then, blasting through Jake Paul before knocking out Kristian Prenga in July having been floored inside the opening 20 seconds.

In between the two, there was the devastating loss of close friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, his close friends who were tragically killed in car crash in Nigeria just after Christmas.

Fury meanwhile stayed retired for 14 months after his second defeat to Usyk, returning in April to easily outpoint Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Joshua and Fury’s best years are firmly behind them. But better late than never, British boxing has the fight it wanted above all others.

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