ANTHONY JOSHUA ACCEPTS TERMS TO FIGHT TYSON FURY
Gypsy King Tyson Fury vs. Joshua: Who Wins Battle For Glory?
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
London, UK (September 13th, 2022)–The Gypsy King, Tyson Fury, has been challenged by some. The Gypsy King, Tyson Fury, issued a taunt with a deadline challenge to Anthony ‘AJ’ Joshua, with a mandatory rematch clause. Joshua was challenged and low and behold, AJ accepted the challenge with a 60/40 purse split for the first match, and 50/50 purse split for the theoretical rematch.
In the middle of the mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II, in the midst of the Russo-Ukrainian War, some critics could argue the timing for such a challenge was woeful. For Anthony Joshua, it’s do or die, beat Tyson Fury twice, then beat Oleksandr Usyk in a unification rematch, or it’s all over.
Joshua was challenged, and AJ has never refused a challenge. The all-British super match at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on December 3, 2022. AJ has been out of the gym less than two weeks since losing his rematch with Usyk on August 20, 2022. AJ will have less than eighty days to weigh in and answer to the Tyson Fury challenge.
For Anthony Joshua, this will be put up or shut up time. As such, Joshua will either have to knock out, stop, or outbox Fury. Believe it or not, this reporter believes Tyson Fury’s decision to immediately duke it out with Joshua is a tactical mistake, and Joshua will beat Fury. Fury is motivated by monetary considerations to extend his career. Joshua is, in the view of this reporter, in need of a big win to turn around his career. That leaves only Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, or Oleksandr Usyk at the crossroads.
AJ took the high road. It was not anticipated. Joshua can knock Fury down, outpoint him and win this decision. The odds favor Fury, but Fury is getting older. Like Mairis Breidis losing to Jai Opeteia for the cruiserweight title, Fury, like Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, and so many others before him, risks hanging around too long. Fury is not hungry anymore. Joshua is hungry to reclaim his glory.
Training for both Fury and Joshua is all a question of personal motivation. Fury versus Joshua is simply a question of who wants it more. In the end, Fury versus Joshua parallels Fury versus Wilder I. Fury versus Joshua will end in a majority draw after 12 rounds. Believe it or not, Fury versus Joshua is an even fight on paper. Styles make fights, and both fighters will box far too cautious in their confrontation to take major chances. A knockdown here or there could affect scoring in either direction, but the scorecards are more likely to be drawish based on the styles of both fighters at this point in their careers.
Fury versus Joshua is a fight the United Kingdom and Europe have wanted for some time. In terms of timing, the unification bout should have taken place earlier, but what’s done is done, and Fury versus Joshua is a big boost for professional boxing in the post Pandemic era of the moment. Also, the United Kingdom needs an emotional boost as the remains of Her Majesty the Queen travel from Edinburgh Cathedral to St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. Fury versus Joshua will determine boxing’s true king, as opposed to the British Commonwealth King Charles III. If Tyson Fury is a bigger version of Rocky Marciano’s heart and soul rolled into one, Anthony Joshua will have to do better than Ezzard Charles did in his two bouts with Marciano. Joshua will have to outwork Fury, and Fury will have to outwork Joshua if power alone cannot do the trick. All in all, Fury versus Joshua is a silent sleep, perhaps the best boxing matchup of 2023.
Joshua’s management company 258 said in a post on Twitter: “258 and Matchroom Boxing can confirm, on behalf of Anthony Joshua, that we accepted all terms presented to us by Fury’s team for a fight Dec. 3 last Friday.
Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, replied “contract will be with you very soon”, accompanied by a boxing glove emoji.
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