The Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury fight, scheduled for December 11 in Cardiff, Wales, could be likened to that party Jollof rice that has been hoarded away from party attendees by a very greedy caterer. People longed for it and protested, but they refused to bring it out for consumption, citing various reasons. People got frustrated and sought alternatives. By the time the food finally came out, it was already stale and sour. Some people tried it anyway, but with groans and moans.
I am a lifelong fan of Anthony Joshua, but this fight is about a decade late. If the fight had happened in 2017, when Joshua had just beaten Wladimir Klitschko, before both men suffered major setbacks, the fight would have shook the world. Two years later would have still made the cut, especially after Fury’s first fight against Deontay Wilder, which ended in a controversial draw in December 2018. At the time, many boxing fans regarded Wilder as one of the most dangerous punchers in the division.
After Joshua suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019, his vulnerabilities were exposed. Joshua would later win the rematch in December of that year by outboxing Ruiz over 12 rounds. That wasn’t the vengeance the world wanted to see. From that moment, Joshua, who was never gun-shy, appeared more cautious and started prioritising safety in fights instead of taking unnecessary risks.
While Joshua took big fights, Fury was constantly fighting opponents who were considered less dangerous than the elite names in the division. Sefer Seferi, Tom Schwarz, Otto Wallin and many others. Wallin, in particular, ended up being a banana skin for Fury. In fact, many would argue that Wallin was unlucky not to get the decision in his fight with Fury.
Fury is a good salesman. He would deceive anybody who isn’t well-informed. He projected himself as unbeatable while, in my view, carefully avoiding certain fights. He used Joshua’s star power to build his profile, yet the two never managed to meet. Proposed fights would build up on social media, but the buzz would eventually die. Just like Floyd Mayweather, Fury used retirement to evade the pressure of certain fights. He kept coming in and going out of boxing like it was a cheap brothel.
Turki Alalshikh of Saudi Arabia finally lured Fury back into the ring with the kind of financial incentives that were difficult to resist. The British fighter returned to face Oleksandr Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, and lost twice — first in May 2024 and then in their December 2024 rematch. Guess what? Fury never really accepted defeat. For a fight with video footage that was watched live and recorded in HD? Goodness me! It soon became clear that Fury was all talks and no walks.
Joshua, on the other hand, changed coaches a few times, but nothing much seemed to change. It is hard to make a pastor out of a politician. The vessel was the problem. At some point, it appeared Joshua was back after he beat Robert Helenius, Francis Ngannou and Otto Wallin in remarkable fashion. Later on, heavy-puncher Daniel Dubois baptised Joshua with the fire of beating. Joshua was flattened in the fifth round with a highlight-reel knockout at Wembley in September 2024. That outcome damaged much of what was left of Joshua’s credibility as a fighter.
Things got so bad that Jake Paul, who is like the Nigerian Peller of boxing, felt he could stand a chance against Joshua. The former got his jaw broken after Joshua stopped him in the sixth round in December 2025. Paul later said the injury had put his boxing career in doubt.
Joshua would later lose his friends, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele, in a fatal car accident in Nigeria in December 2025. Joshua was also injured in the crash. That broke Joshua. Rumours swirled that he was going to retire from boxing. But the stakes were too high. The money on the table was something money rituals couldn’t guarantee.
Joshua’s star power is divine. No other current British heavyweight fighter pulls crowds like him. Matchroom Boxing, the promoting company that has worked with Joshua throughout his professional career, has experienced its own rollercoaster in business. Eddie Hearn had to bring Joshua back to boxing for business.
Joshua eventually announced his comeback against Kristian Prenga, an obscure Albanian heavyweight, in Saudi Arabia. He was knocked down twice in the first round before recovering to stop Prenga in the second. It was hardly the flawless comeback performance many expected, and it raised fresh questions about Joshua’s punch resistance.
Back to Tyson, he retired from boxing after his second defeat to Usyk in December 2024. He sailed off and enjoyed some decent time with his family. He returned to the ring in April 2026 against Arslanbek Makhmudov and won by unanimous decision. He then fought Mariusz Wach in September 2026, stopping the veteran Polish heavyweight after seven rounds.
Boxing promoters knew that there was still a big payday. So they decided to rekindle the old rivalry between Joshua and Fury. Turki Alalshikh stepped in again with the money, and the fighters agreed to it. Reports have valued the overall fight purse at around £150 million, or approximately $200 million, although the exact amount each fighter will receive has not been publicly disclosed. Frank Warren has confirmed that both men will receive record British boxing paydays.
Both fighters are now in their mid-to-late 30s. There is nothing left to prove to themselves. No pride or glory to defend? Perhaps. It is an exhibition fight to say the least. It is a money grab! The potential losers are the paying audience. The good thing about the UK is that people will seize every opportunity to congregate and have fun. Most times, it is not about the game itself; it is about the activities surrounding the game and its ambience. Manchester United can struggle to win five games in a row and the fans will never stop turning up because stadium attendance is cultural.
So who will win? It is like a pendulum and could swing both ways, to be fair. Fury is the favourite according to current betting markets, but the fact that Ben Davison, who helped Fury during his comeback after his long absence from boxing, is now back in Joshua’s corner is an interesting twist. Davison previously worked with Fury and played an important role in his 2018 comeback. Could that be a game-changer?
Fingers crossed. But I am not too optimistic.
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