Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury must both overcome one last hurdle to seal long-awaited fight
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are on the verge of finally getting their hands on each other.
British boxing fans have been clamouring to see the domestic dust-up for the best part of nine years.
But despite several attempts to get the blockbuster showdown over the line, both men are yet to meet in the ring.
That could be about to change next year, though, with Turki Alalshikh hatching a plan to stage the all-British clash in 2026, provided they both come through tune-up fights first.
“Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury next year, we are trying to do it and we are thinking about it,” said Alalshikh during a recent appearance on ‘The Boxing Voice’.
“I need to have for each, one tune-up fight first.
“Why? Because they are both coming off losses. It’s to build it up.”
Tune-up fights have proved costly to Alalshikh’s plans in the past.
The Saudi boxing mogul thrashed out a deal with Joshua and Deontay Wilder for the pair to meet in March 2024, contingent on both boxers winning their respective fights on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ bill four months prior.
Joshua held up his side of the deal by blasting Otto Wallin away inside the distance.
However, Wilder came up short against Joseph Parker, thus derailing a lucrative encounter with AJ.
The same thing happened when Alalshikh dangled a money-spinning rematch in front of Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney earlier this year.
Haney beat Jose Ramirez on Ring Magazine’s unprecedented Times Square card in May, but Garcia fell to defeat against Rolly Romero.
While it makes sense to have Joshua and Fury rebuild their careers after coming off defeats in their last outings, it would be a travesty for British boxing if the bout succumbed to the same fate as the aforementioned examples.
Joshua vs Fury remains one of the most commercially viable fights in the sport today, despite both men’s current run of form.
Fury is coming off back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and has only recently reversed his retirement after seven months on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Joshua hasn’t boxed since last September when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.
Fury is currently filming a documentary with Netflix and won’t be able to fight again until next year.
If Alalshikh is insistent upon the duo having tune-up fights, then that means their long-awaited meeting will likely fall sometime in the second half of 2026.
