Promoters Closely Involved Pass Their Verdict on Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua

In nearly a hundred years that heavyweight boxing has been around, no fight has haunted fans’ dreams more than Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury. AJ’s thunderous fists against Fury’s slippery brilliance have made boxing fans (especially British boxing fans) salivate over the idea of this fight for years. Yet, it never came to fruition. In 2021, the stars seemed aligned for an undisputed clash as Joshua had WBA, IBF and WBO titles. On the other hand, Fury was the WBC heavyweight champion. A two-fight deal was signed for August 14 in Saudi Arabia and every dream was coming true. Alas, at the last moment, The Gypsy King decided to take on Deontay Wilder again after the latter activated the rematch clause and AJ subsequently took on Oleksandr Usyk and the rest is heavyweight history.

Despite many talks and rumors in the following years, we never came that close to it again. Fast forward to 2024, Fury’s unexpected retirement announcement put brakes on the fight for good and fans’ dreams faded again. However, Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn have once again re-ignited the hopes of the fans.

Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua is still possible

Warren and Hearn were at loggerheads for a long time. That changed last year when the Saudis stepped in as Matchroom and Queensberry struck a deal with DAZN, ending their long-standing feud. As Queensberry’s new DAZN deal kicked off on April 1, Hearn and Warren sat down for a Q&A round together and answered candidly. As the Q&A moved forward, the question, “Which fight between a Matchroom/Queensberry fighter have you wanted to make but not been able to?” immediately brought a smile to both of their faces.

Hearn replied immediately, ” I mean… the obvious one, AJ-Fury. Who knows what the future holds?” leaving the door open for potential talks. Warren, who also has been longing for this fight for years now, echoed the same thought. He stated, “Same answer. I mean that’s the fight we all wanted to see. Us, the British fans. The fighters wanted it.” However, “For some reasons, it didn’t happen,” he said regrettably.

Just like the Matchroom head honcho, Warren also re-ignited fans’ hope, claiming that if Tyson Fury ever comes out of retirement, the fight is there to make. “But it’s never too late. Who knows if Tyson decides he’s fed up mowing the lawn, it may happen,” Warren shared.

While both the promoters have expressed their desire to make this blockbuster fight, Anthony Joshua has different ideas at the moment.

Jake Paul is a far bigger fight

After his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois last September at Wembley, Anthony Joshua was ready to take on Tyson Fury. But Fury’s retirement left him stuck, unsure of his next move. Amidst the confusion, Jake Paul, who also got robbed from a blockbuster fight when Canelo Alvarez signed a four-fight deal with Saudis, decided to step forward.

In a recent episode of BS w/ Jake Paul, ‘The Problem Child’ threw down a challenge for AJ, stating, “I want to fight Anthony Joshua because I know I will f***ing beat Anthony Joshua’s a**.” It would have been one of Paul’s usual call-outs with no pay-offs. However, things changed when rumors suggested that Anthony Joshua had called on El Gallo following the call-out.

Talking to The Sun, MVP co-owner, Nakisa Bidarian confirmed talks between Paul and AJ camp and declared this as a far bigger fight than Fury-AJ. “Ultimately Jake versus Joshua is three, four or five times bigger than Joshua versus Fury, easily. Not in the UK, the UK I think they’re similar. But on a global basis, it’s not even in the realm of the same conversation in terms of magnitude, scale, reach, interest, viewership, it would just blow it away,” he stated.

Bidarian added that even though Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury can attract hardcore boxing fans, their popularity in mainstream culture is doubtful. That is where Jake Paul will play a massive role. Bidarian refused to reveal what the camps have discussed so far but assured the fans that there is something brewing for 2026.