Will we finally see Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua collide in 2024?
That’s the hope, although it will need the giant Gypsy King to get the better of the tricky Oleksandr Usyk in February – and their probable rematch – and for AJ to continue on his winning ways.
If the dominos fall into place, Fury vs Joshua at Wembley Stadium – unless British boxing promoters continue to haul their fighters over to Saudi Arabia – in December is a distinct possibility.
And there’s a chance it could live up to the billing as one of the best all-British heavyweight clashes in history.
Haye vs Bellew
Weirdly, Fury vs Usyk is reminiscent of David Haye and Tony Bellew’s battles of 2017 and 2018.
Bellew was a cruiserweight champion stepping up to the heavyweight division to take on Haye, while Usyk – one of the best performers of the modern era in the 200lbs division – has also bulked up to take on the big boys.
The Ukrainian is the underdog for those having a bet on Fury vs Usyk, with the 37-year-old the 11/10 outsider compared to the Gypsy King’s price of 8/11. But the fact that the Paddy Power boxing odds make the two most likely outcomes a Fury or Usyk victory on points, well, that confirms how close this fight could be.
Bellew was the underdog for his first fight with Haye, which came about as a result of bad blood – be it real or manufactured – between the pair. The Hayemaker tore his achilles and became a sitting duck for ‘The Bomber’, who scored a late stoppage.
Meanwhile, the rematch saw Bellew again outmanoeuvre the former WBA heavyweight champion and blast him out in five rounds, Haye still looking injured, but a legitimate win all the same.
Cooper vs Bugner
This was a clash of styles in more ways than one: Henry Cooper, the grizzled veteran, former world champion and all-round British institution, taking on the young upstart Joe Bugner.
In the days when trash talk between British fighters was at a minimum, Cooper and Bugner simply got down to business at the Wembley Arena in 15 rounds of high-octane heavyweight action.
Bugner showed maturity beyond his years, commanding the ring and pivoting away from Cooper’s deadly left hook. In the end, the underdog won by just a quarter of a point on Henry Gibbs’ scorecard – a decision that enraged the watching fans and caused Cooper to retire from boxing with immediate effect. He would never return to the ring.
As for Bugner, he would fight on for the best part of three more decades – taking both Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier all the way to the judges' cards (the former twice) in losing efforts, before winning domestic gold in England and Australia.
Bruno vs Lewis
At the time of their meeting in October 1993, Frank Bruno was rebuilding his career after suffering devastating losses on the world scene to Mike Tyson and Tim Witherspoon.
Lennox Lewis, meanwhile, was on the up and up – the amateur king had compiled a 23-0 record as a pro and was the newly-minted WBC champion.
Some unsavoury comments in the build-up only served to increase the anticipation, while some awful planning – who holds a world title fight outdoors in Cardiff in October? – did not stop a huge crowd at Cardiff Arms Park from turning out.
Bruno dominated the first half of the contest, but a huge left-right combination from Lewis rocked the crowd favourite. Bruno simply could not recover, forcing Mickey Vann to wave off the bout.
Hopefully, Fury vs Joshua can follow in this lineage, but only time will tell.