Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will finally settle their rivalry in Cardiff on December 11. The heavyweights have been on a collision course for a decade without ever meeting in the ring.
The pair signed a contract earlier this year which, for Joshua at least, included a clause stating the fight would take place in Britain, likely at Wembley, in November. But Netflix, who will broadcast the fight, were spooked at the prospect of an afternoon start time in the US, and pushed for the fight to be moved across the Atlantic.
Venue battle
Las Vegas and Los Angeles also threw their hats into the ring but Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple emerged as the frontrunner. Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn were adamant they wanted to fight Fury at Wembley, however, and submitted a list of demands they expected to be met before they would agree to move the fight across the Atlantic.
But despite talks, Joshua and Hearn doubled down on their belief the fight must be staged in the UK and Cardiff emerged as an option. The fight will take place under the Principality Stadium's retractable roof and is expected to start at 1am to ensure the first bell rings in the evening on America's east coast.
Warm-up wins and official announcement
Joshua and Fury, who are expected to earn £75million each, warmed up for their showdown with respective victories in July. Fury stopped Mariusz Wach in the seventh round of their non-televised clash in Thailand before Joshua recovered from being knocked down twice by Kristian Prenga before he stopped the Albanian in the second round.
An announcement was expected to follow but it has been beset by delays. Two months later, Saudi boxing chief Turki Al-Sheikh finally took to social media to make the fight official. Joshua and Fury will now face off for the first time when they meet at a press conference in London next week.
End of a long rivalry
The fight will bring an end to one of the most heated debates in British boxing history, albeit five years after Fury and Joshua were in their prime. The pair held all four versions of the heavyweight world in 2021 and signed a two-fight deal only for the agreement to collapse when Fury was ordered to instead fight Deontay Wilder for a third time.
But both Brits ultimately lost their world titles to Oleksandr Usyk meaning their clash will be for bragging rights rather than silverware.
