Stop me if you’ve heard this one. WBC heavyweight champion of the world Tyson Fury has called out an illustrious opponent for a heavily-anticipated fight over social media. ‘The Gypsy King’ and Anthony Joshua have exchanged words on Twitter and both appear to be up for a bout with each other. Just like Fury and Oleksandr Usyk were a week ago. Just like Fury and Derek Chisora were a month ago. Just like Fury and ‘AJ’ were the first time round, a couple of years ago. Fury is getting to the point where he’s had more social media match-ups than he has had actual fights.
Putting aside the pyro and ballyhoo of online warfare, a heavyweight title collision between Fury and Joshua would be huge. Despite ‘AJ’ riding two losses in a row, and three in his last five bouts, this heavyweight battle of Britain would be a box office smash. Not since Lennox Lewis defeated Frank Bruno in 1993 would two domestic heavyweights of such quality and prestige meet in the ring. No disrespect to Dillian Whyte, who helped draw 94,000 people to Wembley for his own tilt at Fury, but ‘The Gypsy King’ vs the Olympic gold medalist would dwarf even that battle.
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But how would a meeting between two of the greatest British heavyweights ever actually go down? What would happen when the lights dimmed in whichever London, Vegas or, let’s face it, Saudi Arabia ring the fight had landed in?
The impulse reaction to predicting this fight is to forecast a relatively straightforward victory for the WBC champion. Fury has never been defeated in the professional ring. He has faced all manner of fighters during his two reigns as champion. The Morecambe resident has out-hustled master boxers like Wladimir Klitschko, overwhelmed power punchers like Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder and dealt with talented wildcards like Otto Wallin and Steve Cunningham. Fury has seen it all and beaten it all in the prize ring.
Couple this with the fact Joshua has struggled for form recently and the result begins to look almost pre-ordained. Andy Ruiz Jr put the first cavernous crack in the ‘AJ’ armour back in 2019, knocking the then-unified champion out in seven shocking rounds. Joshua reclaimed his titles via unanimous decision in a rematch, but never reclaimed the aura he once had.
After a rejuvenating victory over Kubrat Pulev, the Olympian made a decision that would change his professional life forever. He chose to engage WBO mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk in a title defence at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. An illustrious cruiserweight, the Ukrainian had held the undisputed championship at 200lbs. But most thought the bigger, stronger ‘AJ’ would over-power Usyk when push came to shove. Neither they nor Joshua himself reckoned on what followed; a masterful display of in-and-out boxing to take the titles. For the second time in just over two years, Joshua had lost the heavyweight championship.
The Watford superstar changed trainers, ditching long-time coach Rob McCracken and hiring Robert Garcia. Joshua prepared diligently for a rematch. A newfound spite infiltrated his squeaky-clean persona. He was meaner. He argued with university students who heckled him. He wore black to emulate Mike Tyson. This was a different Anthony Joshua. A more focused ‘AJ’. A more vicious version of the two-time heavyweight king. Then he lost by unanimous decision to Usyk again.
Joshua entered an improved performance when engaging the Ukrainian in Saudi Arabia last month. In the ninth round he even hurt the champion with rock-hard body blows. But it was not enough. It was at that point that the new persona spilled out in earnest. By now you all remember the scene. ‘AJ’ threw two of Usyk’s title belts out of the ring. He embarked on a confused, rambling speech that trod all over his opponent’s triumph. He unravelled under the glare of the spotlight.
So, at his lowest point, can ‘AJ’ really beat Tyson Fury? Beware a man who has nothing to lose, or so they say. But truthfully, Joshua would go into this proposed mega-match with the longest odds of his entire career. All indicators point to a Fury victory, another crowning night to put on his showreel along with the Klitschko triumph, the Wilder classics and the Whyte spectacle. But don’t count Joshua out just yet.
Joshua laboured against the purity of Usyk’s craft in his last two bouts. Logic dictates that if he could not beat a superb technical boxer who he outweighed by 23 pounds, he would not beat a similarly gifted champion who is likely to scale even bigger than he does. But more weight, more size and more height means one thing: more to hit.
Do not forget, Joshua has beaten Klitschko, a towering but elegant fighter, too. While he was caught and dropped in that thriller, he found the punches needed to put Klitschko away. Like Fury, ‘Dr Steelhammer’ was not known for having the most robust chin in the game. You can’t count someone with the power of Joshua out, especially not when his opponent is presenting a 6-foot-9 target to swing at.
Does this appraisal limit ‘AJ’ to a mere puncher’s chance against Fury? In a word: yes. But it’s more complicated than that. While Joshua’s only real hope of victory in this potential WBC title collision is his power, it should be noted few are better at administering that sort of heft. Joshua is an elite heavyweight puncher. But still, if Fury keeps away from the danger zone he should win this one comfortably. Joshua has been stopped before by Ruiz, and has also been hurt by Usyk, Klitschko and Whyte. We know ‘The Gypsy King’ can bang, too.
To summarise. Fury can win this fight in a number of ways. Joshua on the other hand can only really hope to emerge victorious via knockout. This makes Fury an overwhelming favourite to triumph here, but the match-up is still incredibly exciting. After all, when the heavyweight championship is on the line, it only takes one punch to make history.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
