The heavyweight division is the most exciting weight class in world boxing right now, with the potential for blockbuster fights looking stacked. Following his destruction of Deontay Wilder in February 2020, Tyson Fury is the most wanted man in boxing, and as he looks to face Anthony Joshua on a two-fight deal, we take a look at how this is the biggest fight in British boxing history for hundreds of reasons.
“AJ” vs Fury is the only fight that makes sense for both men this summer. After the country (and the whole world) has been through the coronavirus pandemic, PM Boris Johnson has laid down the roadmap for which the UK can exit lockdown.
The biggest date is the 21st of June, on which the government hopes to lift all legal restrictions on social contact, signalling a return to ‘normal’ life. The best way to bring the country together and to celebrate this momentous occasion would be to hold a major British event, with which the whole country can be unified and create the biggest event in boxing history.
This event should be the two heavyweights with all the titles facing off at Wembley: WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world champion Anthony Joshua and WBC World Champion Tyson Fury. Both men have agreed to the fight, meaning all that’s left to be settled is a date and venue.
"All parties have now put pen to paper and we will be working hard over the next few weeks to confirm the site and date for the biggest fight in boxing," Hearn told Sky Sports on Monday.
Frank Warren has admitted that the fight is far from being finalised, with the main issue being a date and the venue. However, with lockdown restrictions set to end towards the end of June and this fight set to be the biggest in British boxing history, it's fair to say that this will likely go ahead in July or beyond that. At the same time, with Matchroom Boxing involved and Wembley the biggest boxing venue in the UK that has already hosted a few Joshua fights, it's also likely that this will be the venue for the fight.
Joshua has turned Wembley into "The Lions Den" as he so calls it. And, given how Fury has been a travelling man for pretty much off all his fights in the past six years, including two bouts with Wilder in America and a battle with Wladimir Klitschko in Germany, he won't mind travelling down to London instead of having it up north.
Former WBC champion, Wilder, has been very vocal about his intention to make it a trilogy with Fury, after he suffered a TKO at the hands of the “Gypsy King” last February. The defeat was the first that the Bronze Bomber had tasted in his career and the convincing nature of the loss shocked many, even though Fury has beat Wilder the year prior in the eyes of almost everybody.
This has led to fans wondering if a third fight between Fury and Wilder is the right move for both men and whether there is as much fan interest in this rematch, as opposed to the desire to see Fury take on Joshua. The fight that makes sense for all involved would be between Wilder and the man who brought Anthony Joshua the only defeat of his career, Andy Ruiz.
“The Destroyer” too would have been hoping for a trilogy of fights with Joshua, however, the American was clearly outboxed in the last fight between the two, so once again, the fan interest in another fight would not be as high. A fight between Wilder and Ruiz would offer both men the opportunity to elevate themselves back into title fight contention, with Wilder, in particular, expressing his desire to fight AJ in the future.