LONDON — After more than a decade of public feuding and false starts, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally stood side by side in London to confirm their long-awaited British heavyweight showdown at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on 11 December. The launch, held Wednesday at the British Airways ARC, was jovial rather than hostile as the two-time heavyweight world champions traded jokes, pleasantries and even a pint invitation.
"He's been a role model and poster boy for British boxing for years," Fury, 38, said of Joshua. "I mostly find myself defending my arch rival to fans in the street." Joshua, 36, spoke about the scale of the occasion, saying: "It's breathtaking and I'm not saying that lightly," and adding, "I'm really grateful for this opportunity and bringing it to Great Britain because I know people in pubs have had proper fights about who will win and family members have fallen out." Master of ceremonies Michael Buffer introduced the pair as fireworks shot from the front of the stage, with Joshua in a grey tracksuit and sunglasses and Fury in a vivid emerald-green suit covered in crown motifs.
There was something surreal about the meeting after years of rivalry conducted through interviews, social media and failed negotiations. The pair have competed in a combined 21 world title fights and revisited their famous 2010 sparring session when Joshua was still an amateur — Fury claimed he got the better of it, one fan shouted "Liar," and Joshua smiled that he could not remember. Fury called the fight "the icing on the cake of two great careers" as he glanced at the word "Finally" on the screen behind them. Even the barbs lacked venom, with Fury saying, "This man here is carved in stone and every time he gets cracked on the jaw, he falls over," and "When I crack him on the jaw with a big right hand, he's going down," to which Joshua laughed and shouted back Fury's catchphrase: "Get up." At the face-off, Joshua smiled and pretended to tickle Fury's stomach as a few hundred fans in the balcony sang "Oh Anthony Joshua."
The cordial tone followed uncertainty on Monday over whether the fight would happen because of contractual disagreements surrounding the promotion. The bout has been reported as being for the vacant WBA 'super' heavyweight title, although current WBA heavyweight champion Murat Gassiev's team has lodged a formal objection over the proposed title arrangement. Tension briefly surfaced when Joshua revealed he had received a call asking whether Fury's name could appear first in the promotion, prompting Fury to reply: "You've been crying behind the scenes to get out of this fight. I've checkmated you. You have to fight," and "I've actually never won a world title here. Now it's on the line, we can become a three-time." The role of UFC and Zuffa Boxing chief Dana White had also threatened to overshadow the build-up after Netflix presented White as part of the promotion alongside Turki Alalshikh's The Ring, despite Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn insisting his fighter's contract prevented White from having a promotional role. White did not attend Wednesday's launch, and when Alalshikh thanked him from the stage his name was met with jeers.
Fury briefly called Hearn a "sausage" before quickly offering to go for a pint with the Matchroom boss and extending the invitation to Joshua. "I hope after this fight we can have a pint of Guinness together," Fury said. "Win, lose or draw, let's bury the hatchet." Joshua replied, "I don't know if I can trust you," drawing laughter. Joshua has been credited with pushing to keep the fight in Britain and can expect strong backing in Cardiff, even with the main event potentially starting about 02:00 GMT to suit American audiences. Fury nodded along as Joshua spoke about his Christian faith, and the overriding mood was relief between two veterans happy to let the fight settle what years of talk could not.