When Tyson Fury grabbed the microphone at a packed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and goaded a ringside Anthony Joshua, the London 2012 gold medallist stayed in his seat.
Fury had just made a victorious comeback against the lumbering Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov as rumours swirled that confirmation of a bout against his long-term rival was imminent.
First, Turki Alalshikh, boxing’s Saudi Arabian power broker, unsuccessfully beckoned “AJ” towards the ring, while Fury’s numerous taunts also proved futile. Joshua rightly stuck to his guns.
The botched fight announcement seemed perfectly on brand for a ‘Battle of Britain’ showdown that has been hyped for years but always remained frustratingly out of reach.
However, on Monday, the bout was “signed, sealed and delivered”, according to Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, with a Netflix-screened November stadium fight in the UK the target. A new multi-fight deal with Saudi Arabia was the reward for the obstinate Joshua, whose demands have now been met.
Chief among them was a warm-up bout, one that has now been confirmed for July 25 in Riyadh against the unknown Albanian Kristian Prenga.
Joshua needs rounds, needs confidence and needs a knockout – it certainly wouldn’t do the promotion any harm after Fury’s tepid display against Makhmudov.
The former two-time heavyweight champion hasn’t boxed since a gimmick fight against social media star Jake Paul last December, while his last legitimate outing was a crushing defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
But, more pertinently, he has since survived a horrific car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two of his best friends and key members of his team. If Joshua never boxed again, it would be entirely understandable.
He sustained injuries himself that day, while what he must have seen and the traumatic loss of his friends will surely never leave him.
The suggestion that he should go straight from that into the biggest fight of his career – the one he will likely be most remembered for – was equal parts cruel and absurd.
Fury extended ample compassion towards Joshua in the wake of the accident but it was telling how quickly that all changed once it threatened to affect his bottom line.
It was also deeply hypocritical of Fury to demand Joshua forego a tune-up as he stood in the ring moments after completing one of his own.
While every bout carries a measure of risk, the good news for Fury and Alalshikh is that Prenga should not pose a genuine threat to the mammoth event being concocted for the autumn.
Names like Deontay Wilder and Dillian Whyte were quickly dismissed, given what is at stake. Prenga is there to lose, and if possible fall victim to a viral knockout.
Box office clash is late but might yet deliver
Joshua has endured a torrid few years with his rebuild towards a third heavyweight title ended in devastating fashion by Dubois followed by the death of his friends.
He will feel redemption lies in victory over Fury, a fight in which he will start as a significant underdog.
The two are just nine months apart in age and sparred as youngsters but Fury, 37, has always been further ahead of Joshua, 36, in the professional ranks.
The optimal time to make the fight was around 2020-2021 after Joshua had recaptured three versions of the heavyweight title from Andy Ruiz and Fury had dominated Wilder in their rematch to lift the WBC crown.
Legal action from Wilder compelled Fury to complete a trilogy and put Joshua on the path towards a pair of defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and a spell in the heavyweight wilderness.
Fury’s subsequent defeats to Usyk also saw him tumble out of title contention and, five years too late, there should be no illusions that November’s bout will be contested by two faded fighters now significantly beyond their peak.
However, back in 2015, when Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally shared a ring, we saw that when a rivalry has truly resonated with the audience, then it will sell no matter what. Fans crave resolution.
The dreary action that night might yet prove a cautionary tale, but the dynamics of heavyweight boxing are fundamentally different to those of the lower weight divisions.
While the physical decline of welterweights Mayweather and Pacquiao rendered them gun-shy and ineffective, the deterioration of Fury and Joshua could yet lead to a flawed but entertaining matchup. If that proves the case then don’t be shocked if we see it twice.
