Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury double-header on the cards for 2022 with London a frontrunner to host

Rivals Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury were initially scheduled to fight this year
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Matt Majendie @mattmajendie21 September 2021

Anthony Joshua’s double-header against Tyson Fury is on the cards for 2022 with London a frontrunner to host one of the fights.

The pair had been due to meet this year before an arbitration hearing ordered Fury to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time.

That bout is set to take place next month, with Joshua fighting Oleksandr Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night. If both champions win as expected, then talks will ramp up for potentially the richest fight in boxing history estimated at £200million.

On the prospect of facing Fury next, Joshua said: “You know, what an honour it would be to fight Tyson, get another good fighter on the record, beat him, we move forward. I’d love that opportunity.

“We were close to doing it. We were a couple of weeks away and, boom, it came to an end. We’ll get it on… I’m sure.”

Wembley Stadium, with a capacity of 90,000, is seen as the only viable option in the UK for the Joshua-Fury clash while the other half of the double-header looks increasingly likely to happen in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn were left fuming after Fury pulled out of their initially planned super fight in order to meet Wilder yet again.

And the current WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight world champion warned he expects the potential for more setbacks before their long-awaited first meeting.

“He’s someone who pulls out of fights, even with the Wilder situation happening,” Joshua said. “We’ll see him sometime soon. When everybody’s ready, we’ll be here waiting.”

Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing

Joshua has now fought 26 times in the professional ranks, with his only blip coming with the shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr on his US debut at Madison Square Garden more than two years ago.

He won his belts back in a rematch in Saudi Arabia before a successful defence against Kubrat Pulev in London in December.

But the 31-year-old is growing increasingly frustrated by many of his fellow heavyweights’ failure to meet him in the ring.

“In the Fifties, the difference with those guys is they actually fought each other – that made them great,” he said. “In this day and age, it’s who speaks the most, who generates the most interest from speaking. So, it’s a different era of boxing, speaking is just as important as fighting these days. For me, I just like to fight these guys. What can I do about it except the responsibility of fighting?”

Joshua will step into the ring in London on Saturday night in front of an anticipated 60,000 fans as a slim-downed version of himself having cut his weight to take on former cruiserweight Usyk.

It led to question marks from some corners but Joshua insists he is in ideal shape for the upcoming weekend.

And despite the prospect of Fury in the near future, he says he is fully focused on the threat of his Ukrainian opponent.

“Usyk is a good fighter, a good pedigree,” said Joshua, who insisted he was fully motivated for a potential 12 rounds.

“I wouldn’t be motivated to get out of bed to train, to put the yards in, to fatigue myself physically, mentally, to recover in the space of six, seven hours and get back to doing it in the morning. I want to be known as a throwback fighter who took more challenges.”

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