Anthony Joshua agrees to Tyson Fury fight
On Tuesday, September 13, Anthony Joshua's management compnay, 258MGT, released a statement on social media confirming they had agreed to all the terms for a December showdown with Tyson Fury.
Their tweet read: "Joshua-Fury update: 258 and Matchroom Boxing can confirm on behalf of Anthony Joshua that we have accepted all terms presented to us by Fury's team for a fight on December 3rd, last Friday. Due to the Queen's passing, it was agreed to halt all communication. We are awaiting a response."
Frank Warren's Twitter account immediately responded with: "Contract will be with you soon."
Fans have been curious to see that Anthony Joshua has been included in the WBC rankings this month at No.6, which would make him eligible as an opponent to the WBC heavyweight titleholder, Fury.
Former two-time world champion Joshua also humbly accepted Fury's recent offer of a 60-40 purse after it emerged a prospective undisputed clash against Oleksandr Usyk would likely have to wait until the first quarter of 2023.
The 34-year-old 'Gypsy King' initially highlighted November 26 at Wembley or December 3 at Cardiff as potential dates for the fight.
The WBC champion marked his UK homecoming with a sixth-round knockout win over Dillian Whyte at Wembley in April, and preceded to reiterate plans to retire before informing the WBC he intended to resume his career at the end of last month.
Joshua, who suffered a split decision defeat to Usyk in last month's rematch, entered the WBC rankings at No 6 this week.
The pair had been set to fight in August 2021 before plans were scuppered by an arbitration judge ruling that Deontay Wilder was contractually entitled to a third fight against Fury, which the American heavyweight would go on to lose by 11th-round knockout.
A rematch with Dillian Whyte had emerged as a possibility down the line for Joshua following his defeat to Usyk, while Fury was recently challenged by 37-year-old former WBA regular champion Mahmoud Charr. The aftermath of Fury's victory over Whyte had also seen him express his interest in a potential crossover bout against UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, though that was at a time when the former had been adamant he planned on walking away from the sport.
Betting Odds
Tyson Fury is odds-on favourite to beat Anthony Joshua if they do finally meet in all-British battle this year, with London the likeliest of locations to host the highly-anticipated fight.
Betfair: Match odds
Tyson Fury: 1/4
Anthony Joshua: 11/4
Draw: 20/1
Betfair: Fight location
London, England: 2/1
Cardiff, Wales: 5/2
Manchester, England: 5/1
Las Vegas, US: 12/1
New York, US: 14/1
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: 20/1
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 25/1
Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: “Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will finally put on the fight that boxing fans have been waiting years for. The current WBC title holder, Fury, is 1/4 favourite going into this fight against Joshua, who is in the unfamiliar position as a huge underdog at 11/4.
“London is the 2/1 favourite to host the bout, while Cardiff is next at 5/2, Manchester 5/1, while a trip to Saudi Arabia in Jeddah is 20/1 and Riyadh 25/1.”
