Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua meet at press conference

By Shaun Murphy-

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally came face-to-face at their first official press conference in London on Wednesday, beginning the promotional build-up to a heavyweight fight that British boxing fans have spent years waiting to see.

The two former world champions shared a stage at the British Airways ARC at Olympia ahead of their December 11 meeting at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, where around 80,000 spectators are expected to watch two of Britain’s most recognisable fighters finally settle a rivalry that has dominated heavyweight boxing for more than a decade. The fight will be broadcast globally on Netflix.

The atmosphere was surprisingly restrained for much of the evening  Fury and Joshua exchanged jokes, compliments, and memories of their careers before the inevitable competitive edge began to emerge.

Fury expressed his intentions of  an all out  attack on Joshua once the bells goes,  promising to come forward and attempt to end the contest by knockout, as opposed to the idea of adopting a tentative or tactical approach to the big fight.

Joshua responded , expressing an expectation for the level of aggression Fury was talking about  stating that it  would inform his level of motivation him throughout his preparation.

Fury said the fight had been “simmering” for a decade, and described it as the contest he would most want to watch as a boxing fan. He acknowledged Joshua’s achievements as an Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion, while insisting that the time had finally come for the pair to fight.

“Is it too late? Is it f***,” Fury said, dismissing the suggestion that their meeting has arrived too late in their careers. He then called for the two men to go into the fight with an attacking mental

Joshua was equally clear about what he expects come fight night, stating that the contest would ultimately come down to “spirit versus spirit, man versus man”, adding that the best fighter would win.

There was also a brief return to one of the oldest stories surrounding the rivalry- the sparring sessions the two men had before either had become an international superstar.

Fury  has long claimed that Joshua had left the ring after several rounds during one of their early encounters.  However, Joshua immediately challenged the account, accusing Fury of being the one who left with a black eye. Joshua then joked that the pair were going to have some fun during the press conference.

The disagreement was less important than what it represented. Talk of a professional fight has never materialised before now, but stories about their earlier encounters have become part of the mythology surrounding a contest that has repeatedly been discussed, negotiated, and abandoned.

Joshua said he barely remembered the sparring session and considered it simply another day in the gym. He said what matters is the fight on December 1

The evening also included a more sombre moment when Joshua called for a minute’s silence to remember people close to him who had died, including trainers who were killed in a car accident last December and former world champion Ricky Hatton.

Fury joined the applause afterward , but the most obvious tension eventually came when the conversation turned towards the business surrounding the fight.

The gypsy king later  mocked Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, while Turki Alalshikh, who is financing the event, drew loud boos from the audience when he mentioned UFC president Dana White.

White has been linked to the promotion of the contest but did not attend the London press conference. The disagreement over White’s role had contributed to doubts about whether the fight would even proceed in recent days. The venue itself is another part of the story.

There had been plans for the big fight to be staged in the United States, with New York previously discussed, but Cardiff was ultimately selected. Alalshikh said at the press conference that he had wanted Wembley Stadium but that Wales provided the opportunity to stage the event in Britain.

He claimed that bringing the contest to the UK involved sacrificing around $70 million in potential revenue because of the time-zone difference and the restrictions around a London event.

Joshua’s promoter also said the fighter himself had accepted a substantially smaller payday to keep the contest in Britain, claiming that Joshua had turned down an eight-figure difference because he wanted the fight to take place in the UK.

That decision matters because the location has become part of the identity of the fight. Fury and Joshua are not merely two heavyweight champions meeting somewhere in the world.  They are two British stars whose careers have developed alongside one another and whose eventual confrontation has become one of the defining “what if?” questions of modern British boxing.

The possibility first became serious as Joshua established himself as one of the sport’s biggest stars after winning Olympic gold at London 2012 and subsequently becoming a world champion.

Fury had taken a very different route. He defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to become unified heavyweight champion before a lengthy absence from boxing interrupted his career.

His extraordinary comeback eventually led to his trilogy with Deontay Wilder and further world-title success. As the two men rose, so did the demand for them to fight each other. Yet, the contest repeatedly slipped away.

There were negotiations, announcements and proposed dates, including a particularly serious attempt to stage the fight in 2021. Another deal for a December 2022 meeting also collapsed. The two men continued fighting other opponents while fans were left wondering whether Fury-Joshua would ever move beyond promotional rhetoric.

Both men have since lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk, who became the undisputed heavyweight champion before later vacating some of his belts. Fury and Joshua are therefore approaching their meeting without the same championship stakes that would have existed several years ago.

 Fury enters the contest after returning to winning ways following his two defeats by Usyk. Joshua has also rebuilt his career after his own setbacks, including his loss to Daniel Dubois, and both men have recorded victories in their most recent bouts.

The fight is no longer about determining which man was the best heavyweight at the height of his career.It is about determining which of these two veterans still has enough left to settle one of boxing’s longest-running unfinished rivalries.

After years in which the biggest question was whether Fury and Joshua would ever actually fight, the question has finally changed.On Wednesday, they stood on  the same stage.In December, they will finally stand in the same ring.