Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are set to finally settle their long-running rivalry when the two British heavyweight stars meet at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11.
The highly anticipated all-British clash was confirmed after both fighters successfully came through their respective bouts in July, clearing the way for the long-awaited showdown.
Fury, 37, secured a seventh-round stoppage victory over 46-year-old Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand. The fight was staged in front of around 1,500 spectators and was not broadcast on television.
Joshua, 36, endured a more dramatic outing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he was knocked down twice in the opening round by Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga.
The former two-time world champion recovered from the early setbacks before producing a second-round stoppage to claim victory.
The contest was Joshua’s first fight since surviving a 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 fight to be staged at Wembley Stadium. However, an agreement with the Saudi organisers financing the event required the bout to take place in Britain, while a move to the United States would have required fresh negotiations.
Hearn has described the Fury fight as a hugely important 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, adding that there was a strong desire to secure victory.
The December 11 meeting will mark the first professional fight between Joshua and Fury, despite years of negotiations and speculation over a potential blockbuster encounter.
With both fighters now set to share the ring, Cardiff is preparing to host one of the most anticipated all-British heavyweight contests of the modern era.
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