When Tyson Fury was asked whether his fight against Anthony Joshua had come too late for both boxers, the Gypsy King responded: “Is it too late?… It’s the icing on the cake of two great careers.”
Former heavyweight world champions Fury and Joshua came face to face in London on Wednesday to allay months-long fears and rumours surrounding their long-awaited fight, which has been confirmed for December ۱۱ in Cardiff.
The British boxing stars are ۳۸ and ۳۶ years old, respectively, and have kept the boxing world waiting for years.
For many fans, why it took so long to agree on a fight is almost as big a question as who will win.
Neither boxer wanted to take the hit for delaying the biggest fight in British boxing history when they appeared in front of the media in London. Fury blamed Joshua, despite reports stating Joshua insisted the fight take place in the United Kingdom for the sake of home fans.
“You’ve been crying behind the scenes to get out of this fight,” Fury said. “I’ve checkmated you. You have to fight. I’ve said I’ll fight anywhere.”
But is the Gypsy King right? Can Fury vs Joshua live up to more than ۱۰ years of hype?
Al Jazeera Sport breaks it down:
Ten years of near misses
Joshua and Fury are prizefighters who decide their destiny in the ring, but outside of it, their promoters negotiate contracts, choose venues and make calls on top billing.
The history goes back ۱۰ years and is full of near misses, contractual problems and other fighters entering the fray.
It all started in ۲۰۲۰, when the two camps agreed to a two-fight deal. A year later, contracts were signed for an undisputed heavyweight showdown. However, Deontay Wilder, an American former world heavyweight champion, won an arbitration case that forced Fury into a trilogy fight in ۲۰۲۱.
In ۲۰۲۲, Joshua reportedly accepted a ۶۰-۴۰ purse split in Fury’s favour, but that deal collapsed too. During this period, unbeaten Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defeated Joshua twice and proceeded to beat Fury twice as well.
All this while, Fury vs Joshua failed to materialise.
Eddie Hearn vs Dana White
Online streaming platform Netflix, which holds global rights to the fight, has billed it as a collaboration between Saudi sports powerbroker Turki Alshikh’s The Ring magazine and Dana White, the owner of mixed martial arts promotion UFC.
Neither Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, nor Fury’s, Frank Warren, was named when talks of the fight resurfaced earlier this year.
Alshikh and White cofounded a boxing promotion, Zuffa Boxing, which was launched earlier this year and became a point of contention in the Joshua-Fury fight. Hearn was of the view that Joshua’s contract barred White and Zuffa’s parent company from any promotional role.
“Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotion,” Hearn said recently.
However, Fury saw it differently and blamed Hearn for costing “the biggest fight in boxing history” in an Instagram post.
White was not seen at the London news conference, where fans booed his name.
A battle of egos
In boxing, the name that comes first on the poster usually signals the A-side, or the bigger fighter.
Joshua claimed he got a call asking whether he minded Fury’s name going first, because Fury was “unwilling to sign unless he does”.
Fury boasted: “I’m number one.”
There was also the issue of the fight venue and, specifically, the host country.
Joshua insisted he ensured it would happen in the UK, whereas White had pushed for it to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“I know we are going to inspire this generation, and I know for a fact we are going to inspire the next generation,” Joshua said.
The niceties didn’t last long between the opponents as Fury claimed he would knock Joshua out.
“I’m going to catch him and, when I do, it’s going to be curtains,” Fury said.
Joshua welcomed the outburst and said: “This is the energy that we want.”
In the end, money got the deal over the line.
Reports in UK media say the fighters will share a $۲۰۰m purse and will bag more than “any British fighter has earned in a fight ever”.
