The long-awaited all-British heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will take place at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on December 11.
The bout has been touted for more than a decade when the pair ruled the division but the chance for them to unify all the major belts never happened, much to the frustration of boxing fans. Both were later beaten by Oleksandr Usyk, who became the undisputed heavyweight champion.
On Thursday, it was finally officially announced Fury and Joshua will be going toe-to-toe in the ring with the action broadcast across the globe on Netflix. “I am inspiring a generation,” Joshua posted on Instagram.
A news conference is planned for London next Wednesday when the two fighters will come face-to-face ahead of the event that will be co-promoted by Turki Alalshikh's The Ring and Dana White's recently launched Zuffa Boxing.
“Two of the best heavyweights of this generation, finally in the ring together,” said Saudi Arabia's boxing power broker Alalshikh. “This will be one of the biggest fights in boxing history. I am very happy to make this fight happen for the fans.”
Both former world champions have been looking faded and vulnerable of late. Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) last fought in July when Polish veteran Mariusz Wach was stopped after seven one-sided rounds in an untelevised bout in Thailand.
“I've had one fight in two years. This is my second fight in two years. Of course, I wanted to get the rounds in. I want to be active,” said Fury, who turned 38 in August. “It's not just the boxing in the ring. It's spilt over the fight week, the press conference, the weigh-in, the nerves – everything.”
Joshua's hopes of finally taking on Fury were almost dashed 24 hours later in Jeddah when he was knocked down inside 20 seconds and narrowly avoided being defeated by Kristian Prenga.
The 36-year-old, who recovered to knock out the unknown Albanian in the second round, insisted his opponent was “a serious fighter” who gave him a stern test. “This is what champions do – we rise, man. We get knocked down, we stand up and we keep going. That's life,” Joshua told reporters.
The iconic Madison Square Garden had been touted as an early potential venue for the bout but Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) had been keen for it to take place in the UK, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan calling for the fight to happen at Wembley Stadium.
“Forever indebted to the UK public for their support of Anthony Joshua. We couldn't have got this over the line without you,” said his promoter Eddie Hearn who has previously said he did not want White involved in the fight.
“For more than a decade, boxing fans have been clamouring for the heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Together, they bring 66 wins, 52 knockouts and multiple heavyweight world titles into the ring,” UFC chief White said.
“On December 11, two of the biggest heavyweights of this generation finally collide – and the winner will take a significant place in heavyweight history.”
Just two weeks ago, Fury claimed he was looking for a new opponent, despite already being contracted to take on Joshua, saying his British rival was backing out of the fight.
“This will only lead me to a fight with Oleksandr Usyk,” Fury said in a post on Instagram. “Oleksandr you're his [Joshua's] trainer and his sensei and you know he is weak minded … and that he would never fight the Gypsy King which you have had the guts to do twice.
“You got the decisions last time, fair play to you. Good luck to you, let's do it again. Let's run it back in November. The ball is now in your court … do you want to fight me this year, 2026, or are you calling it quits? Let me know because I am now looking for a new opponent.”
