By Eóin Kennedy
It’s hard to believe that after all that has changed in boxing in the last few years and given the seemingly limitless influx of cash from Saudi Arabia to make every fight possible, we are once again beginning a new year asking the question, is this finally the one where we get to see Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua fight? There’s always been stumbling blocks, ever since Fury remerged from retirement, the road to boxing’s biggest fight was always blocked by a metaphorical dead badger. Sometimes it was Deontay Wilder in the way, sometimes Andy Ruiz Jr, but usually it was due warring promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn not being able to work with one another. Remember those days? Well, Warren and Hearn get on quite well now and losses suffered by both men have finally cleared the path to this fight, like a massive shovel coming and taking away bothersome roadkill. So, 2025 has started with the same question being asked among boxing fans as every other year in recent memory; will we see Fury vs Joshua this year? But, a more pertinent question may be, do we still care?
Relevance
Now that Tyson Fury has emulated his compatriot, Anthony Joshua, by going to the well twice against Oleksandr Usyk and coming up short both times, it appears the logical next step is for the two Englishmen to finally fight. There’s absolutely no shame in losing to Usyk twice by the way, he has proven himself to truly be a generational talent, but now that he has relieved both Fury and Joshua of all the world titles that they each had, it begs the question, what would Fury and Joshua be fighting for if they do square off? The bragging rights to be the best British heavyweight boxer of the era is alluring but for two men that have both been world champions already, a domestic one-up just doesn’t feel like it’s enough to get these fighter’s pulses racing. Both have already banked millions of dollars each and have experienced the headline Wembley Stadium shows, so dangling the carrot of a mega event may also not be enough for two fighters that have seen it all before. How much this fight really means will likely depend on where both intend to travel afterwards. If it’s a retirement show where the two men show up, swing for the fences, collect their cheques and wave goodbye, then it will be fun but of no more importance to boxing than Amir Khan vs Kell Brook was.
What Does it Mean to Joshua?
There was a point in time where Anthony Joshua took pride in the fact that should he be defeated; he would seek vengeance immediately. His reputation among boxings fans mattered to him and he felt that it was the right thing to do as a warrior of the sport. Over the years, however, Joshua has felt like the fans have turned on him regardless of how he behaves or who he fights, and this has been the catalyst in a policy change for the former two-time world champion. Instead of triggering the rematch clause against Daniel Dubois after his knockout defat at his hands, Joshua has instead decided to focus his attention on the long-time rival, Fury. While Fury doesn’t hold a world title and Dubois does, the former offers Joshua something for valuable than a belt, an updated signature win. To date Joshua’s best win is regarded as his victory over Wladimir Klitschko but the fact that Fury beat the Ukrainian before him is an irksome fact for Joshua. By fighting and potentially beating Fury, Joshua has the opportunity to polish up a legacy that quite regularly gets criticized by boxing commentators. At this point in his career, a win over Tyson Fury is more significant for Anthony Joshua than another world title won by beating Daniel Dubois.
What Does it Mean to Fury?
Despite also losing twice to Usyk, Tyson Fury’s career and legacy are in different places to Joshua’s. As pointed out above, Fury did the honors of dethroning long ruling champion Klitschko before anyone else in the division could. Klitschko’s reign had been so dominant that it essentially killed mainstream interest in heavyweight boxing for almost a decade. Fury rubber fastened his place in boxing folklore when he was the man that finally ushered in a new era with his win and then added to his own legacy with two wins and a draw against the undefeated (at that time) Deontay Wilder. Wilder’s career has spiralled since but when Fury knocked him out on two separate occasions the victories were being discussed among the greatest heavyweight wins of all time. Fury defeated two dominant world champions from two different eras, ending both of their long reigns. That fact alone solidifies his legacy as a great heavyweight boxer. But that won’t be enough for Fury. The self titled Gypsy King saw his destiny in front of him and it involved becoming an undisputed world champion and being regarded as the greatest of his generation. Usyk put paid to that dream and also took his undefeated status. Fury hates to lose and to have done so twice to Usyk means it’s likely that a trilogy fight with the man he has just shared twenty-four consecutive rounds with is all that he has his mind set on. Nobody knows what Usyk’s next move will be yet, but he may wish for a break from Fury, in which case it may make sense for Fury to jump in the ring with Joshua in the hope of winning and putting himself at the front of the queue to challenge Usyk again. Fury already sees Joshua as beaten docket in the sport but if he must wait for another shot at world title redemption, the fight with Joshua is the one that does make most sense and most money still for the Gyspy King.
Will We See It in 2025?
Who knows if this is the year that we finally see the domestic rivals share a ring. If it is, then it is indeed too late as neither man holds a world title anymore, both have tasted defeat a couple of times at least, which is fine but there was an opportunity to make this fight when they hadn’t yet, Joshua has lost punch resistance and Fury foot speed, the list of why this fight would have been better before goes on but what else are they going to do at this point? Joshua has stated he wants the fight unsurprisingly. His career feels like it went into a bit of freefall despite all his accolades but if he could capture the Fury scalp he could retire a happy man. Fury’s been silent since the rematch with Usyk, but he’ll be weighing up his options in private and will be looking for an opponent again soon. Eddie Hearn is still declaring that it’s a massive fight, which it still is commercially anyway, but if 2025 is the year that we finally see Fury vs Joshua, it will be a boxing tale as old as time; a great fight happening way after it’s ‘best before’ date.