Three months ago, Anthony Joshua put pen to paper on a contract to fight Tyson Fury. His rival had agreed his own separate terms earlier in the year. Both men could earn up to £100million each for a maximum of 36 minutes of work. And yet the fight billed as the biggest in this country's history still has no date and no venue. It might not even be staged in the UK.
Previous collapse and current obstacles
We have, regrettably, been here before. Both men signed a two-fight deal in 2021 only for the agreement to collapse when Fury was ordered to instead fight Deontay Wilder for a third time. Both Brits ultimately lost their world titles to Oleksandr Usyk meaning a clash which would once have crowned the best heavyweight on the planet now has little more to offer than domestic bragging rights.
But there is at least hope on the horizon; for by Saturday night Joshua will have returned to the ring for the first time since he escaped death in a car crash last Christmas. The smash which killed two of his closest friends left the former world champion's future in doubt. So it is understandable he would insist on a warm-up fight before taking on Fury. And in Kristian Prenga he has found a willing patsy.
Joshua's comeback and Fury's response
For behind the headline stats of 20 knockouts from 21 fights lies a record with plenty of holes. Joshua will have no business sharing a ring with Fury if he cannot stop the Albanian. At which point we will be served up a dose of deja vu, only this time the roles will be reversed.
In April, Fury called on Joshua to join him in the Wembley ring following his comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov. Joshua refused, leaving Fury incensed and threatening to retire if his fellow countryman continued to play hardball. At the time Fury insisted he would not set foot in a ring again if Joshua wasn't in the opposite corner.
Fury's own fight and potential face-off
And yet on Friday night he will do exactly that against battle-worn Mariusz Wach in Thailand. Fury has sugarcoated what is a glorified sparring session by donating the ticket proceeds to local charities and by claiming he won't bank a penny. Only the 1,500 fans in attendance will be able to watch the fight with no TV deal in place.
Instead, any highlights will be shown on the next series of Fury's Netflix show. The giant Traveller will have a private jet on standby to whisk him the 4,000 miles to Jeddah to watch Joshua from the front row. And if Fury complies where Joshua resisted, we will finally witness the first face-off between two of our most iconic sportsmen. We might even, by the end of the year, see them fight.
