Sept 24 (Reuters) – The long-awaited showdown between British former heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will take place in Cardiff on December 11, promoter Turki Alalshikh announced on social media on Thursday.
Fury and Joshua ruled the division for much of the past decade, but a bout between them to unify all the major belts never came to fruition. Both were later beaten by Oleksandr Usyk, who became the undisputed heavyweight champion.
“For 15 years no one has been able to make this fight… I can now confirm that Fury Vs Joshua will be coming to the UK, as I promised British boxing fans,” Alalshikh posted on X.
Joshua and Fury will fight for the vacant WBA ‘Super’ heavyweight title, Ring Magazine reported. The publication, which is owned by Alalshikh, is also serving as a promoter for the bout.
The belt, which Usyk took from Joshua in 2021, was vacated by the Ukrainian in June.
“I am inspiring a generation,” Joshua posted on Instagram, reacting to the fight announcement.
The bout will take place in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, after media reports said the promoters had previously proposed to stage it at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told The Independent last month that they had insisted on the fight taking place in the United Kingdom.
“We don’t want the money, we’d rather it was in the UK,” Hearn told the British newspaper.
Fury, 38, is coming off a win over Mariusz Wach, while 36-year-old Joshua knocked out Kristian Prenga in July.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Purulia, IndiaEditing by Toby Davis)
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