The biggest fight in British boxing history is being targeted for April or May 2021 – with rival champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally set to decide who is the premier heavyweight on the planet.
The boxing schedule has been decimated by the Covid-19 Pandemic and the momentum of a lucrative heavyweight division has ground to a standstill with large crowds impossible for the foreseeable future due to stringent health and safety guidelines.
But according to Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum, the Gypsy King’s first fight with Joshua is moving towards a Spring 2021 date after the duo agreed a two-fight series in principle earlier this year.
With Fury’s contracted trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder now off, the WBC champion looks set to face another opponent in the UK on December 5 whilst WBA Super, WBO and IBF title-holder Joshua meets IBF mandatory contender Kubrat Pulev that same month. Should both be victorious, Fury-Joshua I is on for the springtime.
“[Fury has] been training vigorously during this whole pandemic. Last time he fought was in February, so sure he should do a fight in December in the UK against an opponent that will be selected and we will get ready for April or May for the great showdown that everyone wants to see, which is Fury against Joshua,” Fury’s co-promoter Arum told Talksport.
“The only thing that is going to stop that fight is if Tyson Fury doesn’t beat the opponent he selects in December and Joshua doesn’t beat Pulev.
“But if they both win, that’s the fight we are moving ahead on for April or May next year.”
Logically, Fury-Joshua I would seem likely to head outside of the UK in the current climate and Arum reiterated that the fighters’ financial and physical wellbeing will be the first priority with Saudi Arabia mooted as a lucrative and comparatively safe location.
“That’ll be a decision made by Top Rank, Queensberry Promotions [Fury’s other co-promoter] and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom [representing Joshua]. We are all business people and we are going to choose a site that is most ruminative for the fighters,” added Arum.