Fury vs. Joshua: “Oldtimer’s” $100M Clash?

Tyson Fury has yet to say whether he will continue his career to face former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua at ‘Battle of Britain’ in 2025. AJ and ‘The Gypsy King’ are expected to earn $100 million each to pick up from Turki Al-Shieh in their domestic waste.

The best in the UK

This fight will prove who is the best of these two guys, but not #1 or even #2 in the UK. That’s how Fury and Joshua faded. The two best heavyweights in the UK are Daniel Dubois and Martin Bakole. Even 20-year-old, inexperienced Moses Itauma could be better than AJ and Tyson.

Again, the Fury vs. Joshua fight will be about the best guy between them. It’s almost like an old timer or celebrity level competition. It’s a shame they couldn’t fight seven years ago when they were younger and considered the best heavyweights in the division. It’s strange that they are fighting now. I don’t know what to call this fight other than old timers.

You can understand why Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) might decide to retire instead of facing Joshua (28-4, 24 KOs) after he was beaten for the second time by unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk December 21 in Riyadh.

The proud former WBC champion was embittered and in complete denial after his second loss. As in the first fight, he thought he had done enough to deserve the victory. Tyson can deviate from principle and refuse to let the boxing world see him fight again.

That would be self-defeating on Fury’s part, but it’s a predictable move if he harbors hurt feelings. He may decide to sulk and refuse to grace the fans with his presence since they had something to do with his two losses. He is still just a big kid despite his advanced age.

Assuming Fury returns for the dough, it’s possible he would be the favorite against the 35-year-old Joshua. It’s not like Fury has better speed, strength or athletic ability than Joshua.

So, on September 21, AJ was defeated by his last opponent, IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, in five rounds. It wasn’t even sporty. Joshua’s strike resistance appeared to be gone as he was knocked down four times in the contest before being stopped in the fifth.

AJ’s Power

Fury has looked vulnerable taking Usyk’s power punches in both of their fights, and his strike resistance appears to have worsened in his three fights against Deontay Wilder.

If Joshua can land the same type of right that knocked out Francis Ngannou, Fury won’t make it past the second round. He won’t be able to avoid Joshua’s power like he avoided Deontay or Wladimir Klitschko. Joshua isn’t a joker, and he won’t wear himself out leaning like Wilder was.

It will be fun to see how well Fury counters Joshua’s full power punches in this fight. AJ will be hunting the bear from the first round, and I don’t see him letting up until he catches the bearded one.