At last the wait is finally over, the biggest fight in British boxing history is signed, sealed and delivered.
Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua will take place in Q4 of 2026, live on Netflix, with the announcement coming from Saudi power broker Turki Alalshikh on Monday afternoon.
After several false starts, most notably in 2021 when the two men both signed a two-fight deal only to have the plan scuppered in a courtroom by Deontay Wilder, there are no longer any barriers.
You would be hard pressed to argue this fight is not happening five years too late - back then both Fury (35-2-1) and Joshua (29-4) were at the peak of their powers and both held world heavyweight titles. Then it would have been an absolute undisputed humdinger for all the marbles.
It says much for the matchup that even half a decade on, with both men having dropped their belts and seen the march of time erode their skills, this is still a huge deal.
Massive paydays for Fury and Joshua
Fury and Joshua are each expected to earn £100million for one night’s work, quite incredible when you consider neither is a world champion and they are 37 and 36 years old respectively.
The surest sign yet that this fight was finally about to be confirmed came a couple of weeks ago when Fury returned from a 16-month retirement to outpoint Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
‘The Gypsy King’ has earned an absolute fortune and the right to spend a happy retirement on the Isle of Man with wife Paris and their seven children. There was only one bout which had enough meat to tempt him back to the table - that long-awaited Joshua showdown.
For AJ too this is the perfect retirement plan, it comes hot on the heels of his £50million payday for knocking out YouTuber Jake Paul.
Joshua of course has had other issues to deal with in recent months - notably the tragic car crash which claimed the lives of two of his closest friends and team members in Nigeria in December. AJ would escape relatively unharmed from a physical perspective, but who can know the mental scars which may remain.
AJ will himself have a warmup fight ahead of his meeting with Fury, and his team have taken no chances with the choice of opponent. He will face little-known Albanian Kristian Prenga (20-1) in Riyadh on July 25.
Make no mistake, Joshua vs Prenga is not intended to be a stiff test for AJ, it is a tune-up with little risk, this is no time to fumble that enormous bag.
Danger for both men in a close close fight
Fury is a slight 4/7 favourite with AJ a 7/5 underdog as we look ahead to that massive showdown later this year and it is a fight laced with danger for both men.
Joshua was a defensive disaster waiting to happen when he was blasted out of Wembley Stadium by Daniel Dubois in his last major heavyweight outing in September 2024. Fury has lost two of his last three fights, against the Ukrainian master Oleksandr Usyk.
Yes they are no longer in their primes, yes this is happening too late. But boxing history is littered with examples of superfights which NEVER took place.
Whatever takes place in the next few months, it will be box office, both in the countdown and on fight night.
It’s time to buckle up and enjoy the ride.