Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are set to finally meet in a highly anticipated all-British heavyweight clash at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11.
According to BBC Sport, the long-awaited contest will bring together two of Britain’s most prominent heavyweight boxers after both fighters secured victories in their respective bouts in July.
Fury, 37, stopped 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in the seventh round in Pattaya, Thailand. The fight was held in front of an estimated 1,500 spectators and was not televised.
Joshua, 36, also endured a dramatic night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he recovered from two first-round knockdowns before stopping Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga in the second round.
The first knockdown came just 20 seconds into the contest, but Joshua regained his composure and eventually secured the victory.
The fight marked Joshua’s return to the ring following the car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.
Following his victory, Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, had expressed a preference for the Fury bout to take place at Wembley Stadium. However, an agreement with the Saudi organisers financing the event requires the fight to be staged in Britain, while moving the contest to the United States would require the deal to be renegotiated.
Hearn has described the Fury fight as a major moment in Joshua’s career.
Speaking after Pat Brown’s victory over John Hedges on September 19, Hearn said Joshua’s “whole career comes down to this” fight.
“There is a desperation to win this fight and this is why sport is the greatest. I’ve never wanted to win a fight so badly,” Hearn said.
The December 11 encounter will bring an end to years of negotiations and speculation surrounding a potential Joshua-Fury showdown.
With both fighters now set to share the ring, the Principality Stadium is expected to host one of the most significant all-British heavyweight contests in recent years.
