Talks about a showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have circulated for years. However, a bout between the two rivals never materialized due to multiple issues. Despite fans’ anticipation of a clash between the two heavyweight titans, the two were set to face separate opponents in Riyadh this year, with Joshua on the undercard against Deontay Wilder. However, after a brutal knockdown by Francis Ngannou, the dates for Fury’s fight with Oleksandr Usyk might get pushed even further.
In his boxing debut last weekend in Saudi Arabia, former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou faced Tyson Fury and surpassed expectations. Despite the loss, Ngannou impressed by taking Fury to a contentious split decision. Ngannou landed a good number of impactful punches than Fury throughout the 10 rounds. Ultimately, he narrowly lost by just one point on the scorecards. With Ngannou on the heavyweight list, Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter has some new advice for Joshua.
As the promoter has revealed, Ngannou had shown interest in a fight with Joshua. However, Joshua rejected it, since he wanted to fight for a belt. But now, Ngannou’s performance against Fury might change the narrative. Though Ngannou suffered a loss, multiple boxers came forward to iterate that Ngannou was the one who deserved the win. What Ngannou has achieved cannot be taken lightly. This is why Hearn believes taking up the Cameroonian as his next opponent will be of advantage to Joshua.
“My advice to Anthony Joshua would be to take that fight, because one, he beats him comfortably and two, it’s massive, you imagine them next to each other, I’m talking rumble in the jungle part two in Africa.” The ‘Gypsy King’ himself admitted to Ngannou giving him the toughest fight in the last decade. A fight against one with such heavy credibility would take the boxing world by storm. Since Ngannou barely has any boxing experience, beating him would not be a herculean task for the seasoned boxer either, or so you think?
In 2022, negotiations between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua for the highly anticipated all-British heavyweight world title fight became dramatic. Fury set deadlines for the bout, but Joshua missed them, leading to the fight’s cancellation. Fury extended the deadline, proposing the fight via social media in 2023 after Oleksandr Usyk’s unavailability. However, Joshua planned a return in August and a bout with Deontay Wilder in December.
Fury explored alternative matchups, including facing Jon Jones, causing dissatisfaction from Hearn.
The Fury-Joshua bout generated excitement due to its potential as two elite-level British heavyweights test their prowess against one another. It will be a clash of Fury’s elusive style with Joshua’s power, global fanbases, and their charismatic personalities.
