Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua confirmed for August bout in Saudi Arabia

Fury’s announcement on Sunday night appears to have brought to end the frenzied speculation about whether the two British heavyweight kings would meet this summer.

In the cold light of day, it was a case of now or never for this fight. At least in terms of its significance and marketability.

Two men at the peak of their boxing and earning powers, and holding all of the belts in boxing’s marquee weight class. These opportunities don’t come around often.

Even in the midst of a pandemic, this fight makes more sense now than ever. Furyjoshua.com pulls everything together to outline what we know, and what happens next.

August 14 - save the date

Initially June or July had been the expected landing spot for the biggest fight in British boxing history. But getting a mammoth deal like this over the line during a pandemic was never going to be straightforward.

The two men agreed in principle the financial structure of a two-fight deal way back on June 10, 2020. They eventually signed contracts for that deal in March 2021.

For a clearly gleeful Fury, Sunday’s announcement was doubly important. Not only does it give him the biggest fight out there, it also ends what will have been 18 months of inactivity by the time he sets foot in the ring in August.

That inactivity has clearly worried ‘The Gypsy King’ - he has referenced it multiple times this year. Notably in the aftermath of high-profile defeats for Conor McGregor and Josh Warrington.

The date is also important for Joshua. Late July or the first weekend in August had previously been earmarked for the fight. Those would have been problematic for AJ with head trainer Robert McCracken set to be with Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics. Now = problem solved.

Saudi Arabia it is

In reality, the race to stage this fight only ever had one horse. Step forward Saudi Arabia.

The Covid-19 pandemic ruined any dreams of this showdown taking place in front of 90,000 UK fans at Wembley Stadium. Without that live gate, the fight would have to move overseas.

There were multiple bidders per reports, but Saudi was hot favourite from the start - particularly as it had already staged AJ’s rematch defeat of Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019.

The real clincher though is the reported site fee Saudi is putting up. A record $150million (£107million). Eye-watering money in the current climate.

The exact location for the fight is still to be announced - the likely landing spots are Riyadh or Jeddah.

AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn has said the Saudis want to build a new stadium just for the fight, reasoning: “They want to create something very, very special”.

There will doubtless be UK fans hoping to travel to Saudi Arabia to see this massive match in person, and again there is much to be worked through here.

Saudi Arabia is currently on the UK’s ‘amber’ list, which means a period of quarantine upon return to the UK. Meanwhile there are restrictions for entry to Saudi Arabia.

Hearn though says the hosts openly want to attract overseas visitors for this fight, so it appears very possible the situation will be different come August.

One positive of the Saudi venue for UK fans is the timezone. The bout will happen primetime Saturday night - no need to set the alarm clocks for some crazy start time in the middle of the night.

The Fury vs Joshua TV rights

Now the date and venue are set, the next thing to be ironed out is those important TV details.

The biggest revenue driver in this fight bar the site fee is the money from those rights.

Joshua has an exclusive deal with Sky Sports in the UK (which will not be affected by Hearn’s reported move to DAZN from July). Fury is tied to BT Sport.

It is expected both networks will share rights in the UK and broadcast the bout on pay-per-view. Pricing will be a big talking point - £49.95 has been reported in places but around the £30 mark seems more likely.

ESPN, with whom Fury has an exclusive deal in the United States, is expected to carry the fight Stateside.

DAZN, which is now streaming in more than 200 territories around the world, is likely to be a major player for rights outside the UK and U.S.

This fight is expected to smash domestic PPV revenues. AJ drew 1.6million buys at £24.95 for that rematch with Ruiz. This fight could just about double that number.

What’s at stake?

As stated, this is heavyweight boxing’s perfect storm. Two men at the peak of their powers, holding all of the belts.

Fury is the WBC, Ring magazine and lineal heavyweight champion while AJ is the WBA, IBF and WBO. All of those baubles will be on the line on August 14.

The fight should result in the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis back in November 1999.

Money spinner: Fury vs Joshua purses

Convention for major fights is that the two men will each be guaranteed a certain figure, with an upside based on the pay-per-view revenues.

The exact numbers will become clearer in the coming weeks but Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum has talked openly of the likelihood that both men will earn around $100million each for their first fight alone.

Not quite Mayweather money, but the highest purses ever for British fighters by some margin.

Name on the poster

A minor point you might think, but maybe not.

With two world champions here, both with incredible records, who is the A side?

Which man has his name first on the poster - is it Fury vs Joshua or Joshua vs Fury?

And which man walks to the ring last? Convention says the champion does, but they’re both champs.

It’s all stuff which is still to be decided - maybe it will need a coin toss to settle the matter.

A career-defining fight

Whatever the two men might say, this is a career-defining fight for both. As you would expect the betting reflects how close it is - Fury a 1/2 favourite with Sky Bet and AJ 3/2.

In years to come, when UK fight fans discuss their records, the question will be “Did he beat Fury?” or “Did he beat Joshua?”

Fury has a 30-0-1 record punctuated by high-profile wins over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 and Deontay Wilder in 2020. Joshua (24-1) also has a win over Klitschko, along with a string of other top heavies on his CV.

But in reality, this is the one (or two) which will really matter when defining their ring legacies.

Bring it on...